Keep Going On
by belize92
Summary: After they've founded One Piece the crew of Straw Hat land on an island where Sanji get in love with a woman.Is that really love or there is something more?Can Nami save the cook from a tragical death? Rating could become M in later chapters
1. Chapter 1

This is a story about Sanji and Nami, because I love the couple, and I warn you, it's going to be a long story. Please read and review.

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter One

They had finally found it. Raftel, the last island at the end of the Grand Line. The only other one who had landed there had been the King of the Pirates, Gold Roger. Here, there was the treasure that every pirate had dreamt of finding. Rufy was exited. He had finally arrived at the end of his trip; he had become one of the most famous pirates of all time, and he was about to disembark on the last known island of the Grand Line. His companions were as enthusiastic as him, even though they showed it in less evident ways in comparison to the boy with the straw hat. He didn't do anything else other than skip about on and around the ship. In the end, the restlessness of the captain got the best of Nami, who gave him one of her deadly fists.

"Why did you punch me? What did I do?"

"You're making me crazy, that's what you're doing! Stop agitating me or I swear to God that I'll throw you in the sea so that you will never find One Piece!"

"Ah, that's cruel!"

"Be quiet!" She threw another fist. " If you distract me, we risk hitting some submerged rock. I must be careful about where I direct the ship."

That seemed to tranquilize the boy; he nodded and seated himself on the floor, with his back against the tree teacher. He looked around. Zoro was sleeping, as usual, while Usopp was working on his new explosive bullets or something else. Nico Robin was reading a book next to Chopper while Brook strummed something on the violin. Franky was checking his steel prostheses, and the sound of pots and saucepans that originated from the kitchen signaled the fact that Sanji was preparing something for snack time. The thought of something to eat was enough to dissuade his mind from the imminent docking on the island. He got up and, trying to avoid Nami, who was checking a map, he proceeded toward the kitchen, his stomach already grumbling with hunger. Just out of the sight of Nami, he raced into the kitchen, and he opened the door wide open with a bang.

"Sanji, I'm hungry! I'm hungry! I'm hungry! Give me something to eat!"

The cook didn't even turn around and answered rudely, as usual. "You ate three hours ago, Rufy! I'm not going to give you anything yet, so turn back and get the hell out of here."

"But I'm hungry!"

"And I don't want to satisfy your hunger every time you say it! If do that, the supplies that I bought for one month would be gone by the end of the day!"

Rufy looked at him frowning. He stayed at the doorway of the kitchen in silence, looking at the cook, hoping he would change his mind. As always, he didn't, and after a few minutes, without warning, Sanji kicked the guy out of door.

"I've said to get out! When it's ready, you will know!"

With that, he slammed the door shut while Rufy raised his fists and yelled against the closed door.

"Sanji, you've hurt me! I'm only hungry."

Not receiving an answer, he turned around and headed to the master tree. At times he wondered if any other captain was treated as badly as he was by his own crew. Not that he was displeased with the relationship that he had with them, but at times it was so frustrating when they didn't pay attention to him, above all when Sanji refused to give him something to eat.

Nami, in the meantime, was checking the map and calculating the safest route to land on the island. According to the navigators of the nearby islands, nobody landed there because they all thought that it was cursed and whoever had risked landing there had never returned. After a pair of calculations, she decided that the best route to be followed was to circumnavigate the island until they reached a beach where they would be able to disembark without too many problems. She communicated her decision to the crew and when Rufy understood that they would disembark in the late afternoon, he looked at her incredulously. It was as if they had said to him that he wouldn't have eaten meat anymore.

"Ehhh? Why so late?"

Nami puffed and looked at him, annoyed.

"Because if we don't want to be shipwrecked hitting against a rock-cliff or to be transported from the strong tides against the bluff, this is the best route. You just have to wait a few hours."

"Nooo, it's an eternity!"

Usopp, who had just finished putting away his stuff, smacked the captain on the head. "Rufy, stop complaining, we have waited for this moment for a long time, so a few hours more are not a lot."

Rufy seated himself, crossing his legs and puffed like a small child. "Alright, but as soon as we disembark, we go searching for the treasure."

Nami smiled and nodded. He always acted like this; he was always ready to throw himself into a new adventure without thinking about the consequences. In that precise moment, Sanji opened the door of the kitchen, bringing out some trays full of food.

"Snacks are ready!"

They all simultaneously raced toward the cook except Zoro, who kept on sleeping, and Brook, who, being a skeleton, didn't eat anything. Sanji, however, ignored the hands they stretched out toward the trays and headed toward Nami, who had returned to observe the nautical map. With his usual tone of persuasion that he used with women, above all with Nico Robin and her, he handed her a dish.

"This is for you, sweet Nami. I have prepared for you a cake of oranges."

She smiled at him. "Thanks, Sanji."

He smiled and raced to Robin to offer her the same dish in the same way. As usual, Usopp started to protest.

"Hey, Sanji! We want to eat!"

The cook cast him a sharp glance and gave him a tray without any ceremony, which he did the same with Rufy. "For you, I have made some meat with some grilled vegetables."

While Rufy thanked him and started devouring it all, his companion started to mumble that certain pervert cooks didn't know how to be nice and that he wanted a piece of cake, too.

After the snack, everyone returned to their previous occupations: Sanji returned in the kitchen to prepare dinner while Rufy and Usopp started talking about what they would find once they landed on the island. After some time, Brook also joined them in their speculations about what was One Piece.

After a few hours, they finally disembarked on the island. It was big, and there was no trace of civilization, it seemed entirely uninhabited. Rufy was overly excited.

"Alright, let's go! Search for the treasure!"

Nami grabbed his red waistcoat, holding him back. "Wait, Rufy, we don't know what's out there; there could be traps or monsters or who knows what."

"Well, we will discover it while we are looking."

The navigator put a hand on her face, shaking her head, exasperated. "At times I forget that you are you. Rufy, if we go like this, we risk ending up in traps, someone could get hurt… Apart from Brook, naturally." She turned toward the skeleton, who made a small bow and lifted his hat in her direction. Rufy, however, didn't want to wait anymore.

"Come on, Nami, there won't be problems; we're strong!"

Usopp get up to defend his captain's side. "Exactly, and we can easily avoid traps that were put there thirty years ago."

Nami turned toward the others. They all seemed to share the same opinion except for Nico Robin, her best friend. Nami didn't have any doubts that if she had wanted, she would have succeeded in bringing Sanji to her side, but they would still be outnumbered, therefore discussing the matter even further was pointless.

"Alright, we'll go, but as soon as it's dark we return to the ship. I don't want to remain out here in the darkness. Who knows what kind of beasts are out there."

When that was settled, Zoro turned toward Rufy. "So, where do we go?"

The boy scratched his head thoughtfully. "I don't know, probably any direction is the same, right?"

He began to walk, followed by the rest of the crew. Zoro, with his katanas, created a passage for the rest of the line. After a few, they encountered the first traps. The first one was a net hidden under the leaves that captured Zoro, Rufy, and Usopp. After having freed them, the group resumed the patrol of the island, but after just five minutes, Sanji fell in a pit with some pointed poles. Luckily, Nico Robin, using her devil fruit's power, succeeded in grabbing him in time before he was impaled. After these two traps, they decided to send Usopp ahead, the most expert of them all in these things. In fact, he succeeded in avoiding some traps, even though some were too well-hidden for even him to notice them. Luckily, nobody got hurt, and they somehow passed all the traps uninjured. After an hour of walking, they finally arrived in a clearing with a cottage made of bricks in its center.

They were all surprised by that sight. They didn't expect anything like that. Rufy and Usopp immediately raced to see what was inside while the other ones remained outside to check that there weren't dangerous animals or traps in the proximity. As the two entered, they started to scream for the rest of the crew to get inside the cottage. They all raced toward the house and all tried to get through the door together. They all stopped fighting when they saw what lay on the ground. Inside the room, there were three old and rusted coffers. All the group remained in silence for a few minutes, observing surprised and excited what they had looked for during all those years. There was the treasure of Gold Roger, the King of Pirates.

There, before them, was One Piece.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Two

Usopp was as curious as the others. He wanted to know what the treasure chests contained. They all understood the enormous importance of that moment. The only one who was perplexed, and also a little disappointed, was Nami. According to the legend, One Piece had to be the greatest treasure, the last reward for the best pirates. Somehow, three treasure chests didn't give her the idea that they alone could contain unbelievable treasures. After all, how much gold and jewels can be contained in a treasure chest? After a few minutes, the wait became unbearable, and Nami gave a push to the captain, urging him to open one of the chests.

"Come on, Rufy."

Usopp exhaled an ecstatic sigh, looking at the treasure chests. "I bet that they're full of precious stones!"

They all nodded, convinced that had to be the treasure. Rufy stretched an arm toward the treasure chests, trembling with emotion. He finally decided to open the first on the left. Taking in his hands the rusted padlock, he gave a quick and strong tug that broke it. Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened the lid.

They didn't see the gold that they were expecting and neither did they see diamonds or something equally as precious. Rufy remained frozen for some seconds while contemplating the contents of the treasure chest. He couldn't believe that this was the treasure. There were nothing else other than pages and documents. The rest of the crew was thinking the same thing. Nobody expected the treasure to be a pile of pages. A treasure was made of gold and jewels, not of paper and ink. Nico Robin bent over the treasure chest and glanced rapidly over the pages.

"They seem to be chronicles of fights... They're the chronicles of the fight of Gold Roger against other pirates and against the commanders of the Navy."

Chopper jumped onto her shoulder and looked at the documents, disappointed. "But this is not a treasure!"

Nico Robin smiled. "Perhaps not for you, but for an archaeologist like me, they have a big value."

Sanji drew near to Rufy and pointed out the two remaining treasure chests. "Maybe those are full of gold."

The captain nodded, removed the padlock from the second treasure chest, and opened it. Again, there wasn't gold twinkling but more papers. This time, however, the papers were about rewards. There was a lot of reward posters accumulated in the chest.

Usopp inspected the photos reading the names. "Hey! These are all pirates of Gold Roger's crew! I recognize the names from the stories that I have heard about him!"

Nami took a reward poster and inspected it. Meanwhile, Zoro drew near and looked on the bottom of the treasure chest, hoping to find something else of value. "I didn't picture him as a sentimental type of guy," he said.

The others remained silent while Rufy took the third padlock and broke it. He opened the lid with so much strength that it broke and remained in his hand. The group tried to see what was inside the last treasure chest, but their view was obstructed by the captain. He bent down and picked up something from the bottom. It was a piece of paper, probably written by Gold Roger. The crew observed their captain while he was reading as Usopp made sure that the treasure chest was empty. Rufy stayed inexpressive while he read the words of the King of Pirates. After having read it twice and thinking about it, he gave it to Nami and went out without saying a word. The entire group drew near in order to read with Nami the words of the greatest pirate of all time. They were all surprised when they discovered the last message left by Gold Roger: _Keep Going On_. They were incredulous as they followed the captain outside.

Could it really be One Piece? How could that be the great treasure that they all had dreamed about? The disappointment started to spread among all the members of the crew. They all began to speak at once, each expressing his own doubts and his own ideas. At the end, however, they didn't accomplish anything; despite all of their suppositions and explanations, they couldn't know if that was really One Piece or not. Usopp, however, didn't want to accept defeat.

"I'm sure that this is some kind of trap to make us believe that this is the treasure while the true treasure is hidden somewhere else. We just have to keep looking. What do you think, Rufy? Should we start to search again, now? Or maybe we should start tomorrow morning. We can organize some groups for searching and…"

Rufy, who for the whole time had remained silent and staring at the sky, turned toward him, an expression of certainty in his eyes. "We set sail."

A choir of "What?" was the answer to his affirmation. The crew looked at him, astonished. Franky drew near to the captain and put a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"Rufy, you shouldn't let it go like this! We have reached Raftel, the last island of the Grand Line. Even if the treasure of Gold Roger consists of a stack of paper, you have accomplished the dream of many pirates. And I'm sure that Usopp is right— the treasure exists, we just need to look for it."

Rufy looked at them and then shook his head. In that moment, he seemed incredibly mature. "The treasure is that stack of papers and documents guys. That is One Piece, there is no doubt."

None of them understood why all of a sudden their captain wanted to set sail in such a hurry. Chopper tried to talk to him, to convince him to wait a little longer before setting sail. He was sure that they would find One Piece if they searched for it. "Are you sure...?" he asked.

"Yes, Chopper, I'm sure. The treasure we have found is One Piece. We've got nothing else to do here. Come on, we must return to the Thousand Sunny before nightfall."

Everybody understood that it was an order. Nico Robin headed back toward the small cottage. "Captain, I would like to bring the papers of Gold Roger with me. Is that okay?"

Rufy nodded and started to walk in the direction from which they had come. The archaeologist turned toward Sanji. "Sanji, could you help me bring these documents to the ship?" she requested.

The cook didn't let her ask twice; he raced inside and grabbed the first treasure chest, smiling like an idiot. "Of course, my dear Nico Robin! Your knight in shining armor will bring this to the ship for you!"

The woman smiled and thanked him, then followed Rufy.

Once they returned to the ship, the crew didn't know what to expect from their captain. He just stood near the main mast, staring at the horizon. Almost immediately, Nico Robin disappeared into her cabin, saying that she wanted to inspect the papers of the King of Pirates. Maybe she would find something that explained the treasure chests full of papers and rewards and the meaning of the little piece of paper with Gold Roger's message. The others decided to leave Rufy to his thoughts and resume their chores, even if they were still upset and disappointed by the discovery. After dinner, which had been spent in silence, Rufy stood up and went outside. After a while, everyone followed him, and when they were all together, he pointed his finger toward the horizon.

"We'll go in that direction."

They all remained silent, not knowing what to say. The first who spoke was Nami.

"Rufy, what do you mean? In that direction, there's only the sea, and you know it. This is the last island of the Grand Line; after it, there is only the open sea."

The captain didn't even look at her; he just continued to observe the sky. "We must go on. We will continue until we won't find any other lands to explore."

"Rufy, I have told you that there isn't anything after this island."

Chopper got up and grabbed the waistcoat of the captain. "Nami is right, so listen to her. What makes you believe that we'll find something in that direction?"

The boy turned to him, and for the first time, he smiled in his usual innocent way. "Because Gold Roger said so, in his last message. _Keep going on_, he wrote, and we'll do it. We'll keep going forward in that direction."

That left everyone with their mouths wide open. Zoro looked at him, incredulous. "Are you crazy? What makes you think that this is what he meant? As far as we know, it could all be a joke."

The captain shook his head, smiling and sure of his idea.

"I'm sure of it, this is what we must do. Gold Roger has told us to go on, and it's what we'll do. We'll continue to explore the Grand Line, and each of us will accomplish our goals…" He turned to Nami. "Maybe out there we'll find other islands that nobody have ever drawn on a map." He turned to Nico Robin. "We could find civilizations that haven't been studied yet. Maybe we'll find All Blue." This last part of his speech was directed to Sanji. "Each of us could find what we have always looked for."

"Or we could die of hunger after months passed searching for islands that don't exist," Usopp said. He didn't want to destroy Rufy's dreams, but someone had to make him see that what he was proposing was insane. The others seemed to agree with him, but Rufy didn't even seem to consider the idea that there could be no other islands after Raftel.

"I'm prepared for the risk of an adventure like this. If we don't go, we'll never know if our dreams can become true. You have to risk something in order to gain something. We won't find All Blue by following ordinary routes. You can't become the most intrepid pirate of all time if you aren't prepared to risk your own life in adventures that are supposed to be desperate. You can't draw a map of the world if you don't travel around it."

Nobody responded to him, each lost in his own thoughts. In the end, Zoro got up and put a hand on the shoulder of the captain. "So? When do we set sail?"

Nami looked at him in disbelief. How could he approve of Rufy's idea? After everything he had just said, Zoro was prepared to risk his life? Didn't they understand that they would probably die?

In the meantime, Sanji had lit his cigarette and exhaled some smoke. He stood up and smiled at the captain. "Well then, I would say that there is nothing else left to say." He headed toward the kitchen. "In this case, I should control how much food we have for the journey." He disappeared, leaving the rest of the crew in silence.

After some minutes, Brook started to laugh. "Well, I would say that I'm the one that will risk the least of all of you. After all, I'm already a skeleton!"

Rufy started laughing at the wisecrack, but at this, Nami burst. "Have you all gone crazy? Do you realize what you are saying? We are risking death! We'll probably die!"

Franky, who had been silent until that moment, finally spoke. "But we've always risked death, right? I mean, we're pirates, risking our life is in the job description."

"This time is different! We don't know what we're going to find. Until now, the dangers that we have faced were dangers that we knew— we knew what we were doing."

"Yes, but we've never faced those dangers sure of our victory. Isn't it the same thing now?". Said Franky.

Nami was at a loss for words. She didn't know how to make them understand that it was suicide. She turned to Nico Robin, Usopp, and Chopper, all of whom hadn't spoken until then.

"And you? What do you think?"

Chopper simply looked at her like a little boy. "I think that Franky is right, Nami. It isn't so different from all the other times that we have faced battles."

Usopp nodded approving what the small reindeer have said. "This time we don't know what we are going to face, but the principle is the same. I'm with Rufy."

Nami looked at Usopp without words. She understood his desire to prove to everybody that he was a brave pirate, but this was stupid. Now her only hope resided in Robin. But she also disappointed her.

"I think that we should follow the captain. We should go in search of new islands. It's an adventure that has always fascinated me. If we prepare ourselves in the adequate way, I believe that we can face anything."

Nami sat down, without strength. The whole crew was unbelievable; they were with Rufy, prepared to risk losing their lives in order to follow a dream. The rubber boy crouched before her, looking at her, waiting.

"Well, Nami? What do you think? Can you guide us toward other islands in an unknown sea?"

The girl smiled at the challenge and shook her head. "I must be crazy to follow all of you in this."

Rufy smiled at her one of his usual big smiles and jumped in the air. "Let's go!"

He was about to jump again when the navigator grabbed him by the arm and made him turn toward her. "Wait, before we go, we must prepare everything. We have to restock our supplies, and we have to make sure that the ship doesn't need any repairs. We have to inventory all of the things we think that will be handy during the journey and…"

The captain looked at her in disbelief. "But that will take us a year!"

"I don't care. I want to increase our chances of surviving this journey. Before we set sail, I want to be sure that we have everything we will need."

The boy puffed, shaking his head but not saying anything. He didn't like it when he had to postpone his plans. He was always so impulsive. According to him, his fortune would have been enough to make them survive.

"We must find an island where we can restock our supplies and where we can buy everything that we need. If I remember correctly, there's a small island three days South from here."

Rufy jumped up and pointed toward the East.

"Let's go to that small island then!"

Usopp moved his arm toward the correct direction. "This is the South, Rufy."


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Three

During the navigation, they didn't encounter other ships of the Navy. That wasn't surprising since that part of the ocean was the edge of their jurisdiction, and therefore it wasn't very guarded.

"Nami, how much longer will it take?"

"Stay calm, Rufy. We set sail only yesterday. I've told you that it will take three days."

"But I'm bored."

"And what can I do about it? I haven't eaten a devil fruit, so I cannot make the wind blow to my liking. We'll proceed at this pace, and that's the end of the story."

The boy turned away irritated and went to sit on the lion-shaped figurehead of the ship. That boy was really unbelievable; he didn't have any patience, was too impulsive, and often acted like a kid. People had to wonder how he made them follow him. Nami puffed, remembering that everyone in the crew was an impulsive guy who thought only about battles. Except her, Robin, and at times Chopper and Usopp, nobody ever stopped to think, to elaborate on a plan. They always faced fights openly. Well, sometimes she did that, too, but at least she had always a backup plan.

They had departed almost immediately after her approval of the plan the day before, as soon as the log pose was ready. From that moment on, the best friend of the navigator had remained in her cabin reading the papers left by Gold Roger. Nami wanted to read those pages, too, but they were sailing and since it was the Grand Line, she could not leave the helm for an instant. She always had to check if their direction was correct, and she also had to check the weather. On the Grand Line, the weather was strange, and even though she was used to it by now, she never underestimated it, because she knew how insidious it could be.

The navigator was checking their position when she saw the small boat. It was a little boat, one of those used by fishermen. For a moment, she thought that there was nobody on board, and that maybe it had been brought there by the current. A sudden movement inside the boat made her retract. She immediately turned and called Usopp, who was fumbling with his explosive powders.

"What do you want, Nami?"

She pointed toward the small boat. "Look over there; do you see someone in that boat? I think I've seen movement."

The boy put on his glasses and observed the small boat for some seconds. It didn't seem like there was anyone there, only a heap of oil cloth but nothing else. When the heap stirred, he jumped, risking falling in the water. "There's someone there, under the oil cloth!"

"Rufy, come here, now!"

"What's the matter, Nami?"

"You've complained that you don't have anything to do, right? Well, now you do. Drag that boat over."

"Eh? Why? There's nothing inside."

The fist that he received made him fall face first on the ground. "Because I told you so! Come on!"

The boy massaged his cheek, thinking how much of a bitch she was when she behaved like that but didn't say anything, knowing that she would hit him again. "Alright, alright, I'll do it."

He stretched his arms in the direction of the small boat; when he reached it, he grabbed the edge of it and started to retract, bringing the small boat back with his usual speed. Nami immediately realized that it was much too fast. "You're going to break it against the broadside of the ship! Slow down!"

But it was too late; the boy was retracting his arms at a speed that couldn't be stopped. The only way to avoid breaking the small boat against the ship was to toss it in the air, and so he did. Usopp and Nami looked horrified as the boat passed above their heads. They saw the occupant hurled out into the air.

Nami pointed at the figure. "Grab it!"

The rubber boy nodded and stretched his arms again, grabbing the bundle of oil cloth that was about to fall in the water and bringing it to his chest. "Hey, there's someone here!"

He put it down, and as soon as Nami was sure it was safe, she kicked her captain in the face, making him fly the length of the whole deck. "You stupid idiot, what did you think you were doing? Did you want to open a hole in the ship so we would all sink?"

The boy's face was red where she had hit him. "Sorry, I don't know my own strength."

"You never know your own strength, you stupid moron!"

She was interrupted by the sound of a hiccup coming from the heap next to her. She bent down and grabbed the edges of the oil cloth, unwrapping it little by little. She didn't want to frighten whoever was inside. When she was finally able to see who it was, she was without words.

It was a little girl, more or less ten years old, with a blue dress and frightened to death. She looked at them like Nami had looked at Arlong when he had brought her away from her own village. The navigator smiled at her reassuringly and lifted her hands up.

"Hey, hi. I'm Nami."

The girl didn't answer; she was looking at them with wide-open eyes. Nami felt the others behind her gather around, interested by the new arrival. The girl kept gripping the edges of the cloth, as if she feared that letting go would leave her without protection. Nami tried to touch her, but the child withdrew from her, afraid. She needed to take it slow.

"Calm down, we won't hurt you."

The child looked around, finally noticing the black flag with a pirate skull on it. "You're pirates."

"Well, yes."

"You are bad people; you hurt honest ones."

Rufy immediately got up, infuriated. "Hey, that's not true! We are good pirates! We don't hurt innocent people! The only ones that we kill are those that hunt us and the pirates that challenge or try to kill us!"

Frightened by that, the child closed her eyes and began to tremble. Nami was about to yell at him to shut up when a black shoe appeared from nowhere and slammed itself on the head of the captain. "You moron! You don't speak like that to a frightened and confused child! You just made it worse!"

The child opened her eyes and observed the scene before her. She was immediately fascinated by the cook. Sanji noted this and used her momentary distraction to kneel in front of her, smiling kindly.

"Hey, little one, I'm Sanji. I apologize for my captain; you know he's just a rough guy who doesn't know how to behave around women. Not even with nice little girls."

The little girl looked at him without saying a word for some time but in the end she made a half smile. "No, he really doesn't know."

The cook nodded, smiling, happy to make her say something. "You know, even if we're pirates, it doesn't mean we're bad guys. As Rufy said so roughly before, we don't hurt good people. Above all, not women or little girls." The last part had to be a joke, but it seemed to capture the attention of the child. She tried to get up, but she was weak and if Sanji hadn't grabbed her in time, she would have fallen. "I bet you haven't eaten for a while, am I right?"

The child shook her head.

"Well, in that case, you're lucky. I'm the best cook in the world; I'll prepare you something to eat, something so good that you won't stop eating."

He opened his arms to the girl, who snuggled up against him, and carried her toward the kitchen. Rufy followed them. "Hey, Sanji, I'm hungry, too!"

The cook didn't even turn to the captain. He was irritated and fighting the urge to kick him. "You're not going to eat for a while, Rufy! You have frightened the little one, so you don't deserve anything."

"Eeh? But I'm hungry!"

"Then next time, you'll remember to behave in a better way."

Having said that, he disappeared with the girl while the others looked at Rufy, nodding their approval. Chopper drew near the captain. "He's right this time, you know?"

The rubber boy didn't say anything. He just scratched his head and rolled his shoulder.

In the meantime, the girl was sitting on a bench in the kitchen, admiring her surroundings. Sanji turned on some stoves and turned to her. "Would you like something in particular to eat?"

"No, nothing."

"You're sure? I can cook anything." When the girl didn't answer him, he nodded and lit a cigarette. "Then I'll make you an omelet with some fish."

They were silent while he cooked. The sound of the fish sizzling in the frying pan filled the air. Nami entered with the others in silence and took a seat near the girl. When the silence finally became unbearable, Usopp started to ask her some questions.

"What's your name?"

The child didn't even deign him a look. She simply kept observing every movement of Sanji. When the cook noticed this, he smiled. "You know, it would be kind if you told us your name. I don't want to call you 'little one' forever."

The child blushed visibly, lowering her eyes to her hands. "My name is Abi."

"Nice to meet you, Abi, my name's Nami. The others are Usopp, Nico Robin, Franky, Chopper…"

"Are you a reindeer?"

Chopper nodded while chuckling at her amusement. "I'm a reindeer, yes, but I'm also the doctor of the ship. If you don't mind, I'd like to give you a check-up. I want to make sure you're healthy."

Abi furrowed her brows and thought about it. "Will you gave me shots?"

The reindeer laughed at the question and shake his head. "If you're not sick, then no."

"Alright, then."

"The one with the scar over his eye is Zoro, the skeleton is Brook, and the one that was so rough with you before is Rufy."

Abi stared at Brook with a wide-open mouth for some minutes, but when Sanji put the omelet before her on the table, she immediately forgot everything. She started to devour the food. The cook chuckled while breathing in some smoke from his cigarette.

"I think I'll prepare something else for our little Abi."

She finished eating after a few minutes. She placed the fork on the plate and looked at the cook, smiling. "Thank you, it was delicious."

Sanji chuckled and ruffled her hair. Nami noticed that she didn't seem frightened anymore. It seemed that Sanji had reassured her. "Abi, why were you on a boat in the middle of the ocean? Surely you know how dangerous it is to face the sea alone on such a small boat."

The child blushed, refusing to look at them. "I ran away from home."

"Why?"

"To show my sister."

"What did you want to prove? Can you tell us?" the navigator asked. Abi shook her head, and Nami understood that it was pointless to push her. What mattered was that they now knew that she had run away from home and that they had to bring her back. "Do you want us to bring you home?"

Suddenly, Abi started to sob and sniff, and Nami hugged her on impulse. After all, she was still scared and probably confused. Among the hiccups, the navigator heard a 'yes.'

"Okay, Abi, we'll bring you home. What's the name of your island?"

The child sniffed a little and tried to fight back the tears, looking at her in surprise. "Will you really bring me home?"

It was Usopp's turn to answer. "Of course! We're not the kind of pirates who would leave a child in trouble."

Abi smiled between tears and hiccups. She tried to stop the tears but couldn't. She was too overwhelmed by their kindness to stop crying. She disentangled herself from Nami and tried once more to compose herself. Eventually, she accomplished that task and started to thank them.

"Thank you all! Thank you, really! My island is called Kosey, and I don't think it's too far… Thank you!"

When she heard the name of the island, Nami started chuckling. They all looked at her, a little surprised by her reaction. She shook her head a little, still chuckling. "We won't even have to change the route we're following. You see, Abi, we were already going to your island. We're all going in the same direction."

The child was about to thank them again when Sanji put another plate full of fish and fried potatoes in front of her. Abi thanked him quickly and started to eat. The cook looked at her for some time and then started laughing.

"I think we'd better reach this Kosey quickly. With the speed at which you all eat, including the little one here, we'll be lucky to have anything to eat tomorrow evening."

At that, Rufy, who was seated near Robin, jumped up. "Eeeh? There's no food? That's not possible! We can't go on without food!"

"Well, we wouldn't have to risk going on without food if a certain captain didn't keep on stealing food from the kitchen."

The rubber boy didn't know how to reply to that and decided to sit, crossing his arms and mumbling something that none of them understood. Abi started laughing at them, and soon enough everyone in the kitchen was laughing, Rufy included.


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Four

They disembarked on Abi's island three days later. The delay had been caused by Zoro. During his turn at night at the helm, he got lost, as usual, and let the ship go to the opposite direction they were heading. After having discovered the mistake, Nami had immediately changed route but for that, they had to wait another day before landing on the island. They approached Kosey the evening of the fourth day. Nami was in her cabin, counting the money at their disposal. Sanji had told her that their supplies were almost finished, and Usopp had made her a list of things they would probably need in order to maintain the ship, and it wasn't a short list. They needed a lot of stuff that wasn't cheap.

"Damn it, Rufy! Why did you have to come up with this insane idea? Was so hard to forget that damned piece of paper?"

But she knew that Rufy was like that— he wasn't able to let anything go. If he believed in something, he would have done everything to prove it right, like the rest of his crew. The door opened, and Abi appeared on the threshold. The child smiled at her happily and signaled to Nami to follow her out.

"We've arrived! We're going to land soon!"

The navigator smiled at her and decided to postpone the matter of money. She got up from the chair and stretched a little. After that, she followed the girl out onto the deck. Rufy was sitting on the figurehead of the Thousand Sunny while the others were preparing themselves to disembark. The captain noted the little girl and smiled at her.

"Abi, we've almost reached your island!"

The child, who had started to take confidence with the crew, clapped her hands, beaming. "I know! I can't wait to reach home! I'm so happy that you've helped me!"

She looked around, searching for Sanji. Nami pointed to the kitchen, chuckling. "He's probably in the kitchen preparing supper. You can go ask him what we'll have for dinner if you like."

Abi nodded and ran into the kitchen. The navigator watched her disappear behind the door. It seemed that she didn't want to do anything else other than to follow Sanji anywhere he went. In the beginning, they thought it was because he was the first one who had made her open up a little, but now it was clear that she liked him a lot. Not even Usopp and Chopper, both of whom knew how to act with children better than anyone else on the ship, could hold her attention for more than an hour or two. She wanted to stay with Sanji all the time, even when he was cooking, speaking and joking with him. Nami had to admit that the cook was really good with her.

She observed the island they were approaching. She noticed that at the top of a hill, behind the village, there was a big temple. It was imposing and also out of place. It didn't bode well with the poor style of the underlying village. Nico Robin came to stand next to her and started to observe the island as well.

"It's really interesting, that temple, don't you think?"

"I don't know; I think it's a normal temple, even if it's a little too outstanding."

"That's why I think it's interesting. Did Abi talk about her village at all?"

"No."

"Did she tell you why she ran away from home?"

"No, why are you asking me?"

The archeologist stared at the island without looking at her. "I don't know, maybe it's just my imagination, but I feel like I've seen that temple before."

"Of course you have, you're an archeologist."

Robin smiled at the joke and looked at her in a strange way but after that returned to stare at the island.

"Maybe you're right but… Nami, when I tried to ask her about her village, she refused to talk and practically ran away… I think we shouldn't stay on that island for long."

Nami started laughing. "Robin you're too doubtful! She's only a child who escaped from her home for god's sake. She's probably still ashamed of what she has done. Maybe she doesn't want to speak of her village because when she does, she remembers the stupid thing that she has done."

Robin sighed and walked to her cabin. She wanted to do some research; she knew that she had seen that temple before. "I hope so, Nami."

They disembarked some hours later. Abi jumped on the dock, laughing with joy. She was excited and overjoyed. She motioned for them to follow her. "Come, let's go to my home! I want you to meet my sister!"

Taking Sanji's hand, she started to head toward the town. Zoro neared Nami with a hand on his katana. He looked tense and was studying the town with suspicion. "Is it only me or do you also think that this village is too quiet? After all, it's not even night."

The navigator looked at him, stunned, but when she finally looked at the village, she noticed that it was really quiet, too quiet. No one was in the street, and the houses were all dark. There was no sign of life around them. She made a sign to Robin who understood immediately. They had been sighted while they were nearing the island. Probably the habitants of the village had escaped, or they were preparing an ambush. The woman decided not to risk it. If they were going to have trouble, they would need the ship readied for battle.

She took Brook's arm and whispered to him. "Could you please watch the Thousand Sunny? I'm not sure that we're going to be welcomed nicely here."

The skeleton nodded without saying a word and returned to the ship. A little relieved with this precaution, she followed the crew. While they were heading to the center of the village, she informed the rest of the crew of her doubts. When they reached the little square, they were all tense and ready to fight. Abi, of course, was too excited to notice any changes. She was chattering about how relieved her sister was going to be. None of them were listening to her; they were all searching for signs of an imminent attack. Nami thought that it was strange anyway, no one was in sight and there wasn't a sound. It was all too quiet.

When they arrived at the square, nobody was waiting for them. Abi crossed the open space without thinking about it twice. It seemed like she wasn't aware of the strange quietness of the place. It was when they were in the center of the square that the villagers showed themselves. Suddenly, the place was illuminated by torches and all the streets that gave access to the square were closed off by angry and armed people. Nami noticed that some of them were also on the roofs, aiming at them with crossbows.

"Stay where you are! You're surrounded!"

A woman stepped forward. She was tall and large with a green dress worn out by use and short blond hair with a headband. She was pointing a gun toward them and from her demeanor, they understood that she was used to shooting it.

"Put down your weapons and raise your hands, pirates!" No one moved, and the woman made another step as if to impose her authority. "Are you deaf? I said to put down the weapons!"

They looked at each other as they tried to decide what to do. That's when the woman lost her patience and shot. She was aiming at the sky, but the bang of the shot was enough to draw their attention to the woman, who was growing tired.

"If you want to die I'll…"

Abi finally decided to show herself. She had been hiding behind Sanji all this time because they didn't want her to get hurt, but she couldn't let them get hurt either. They had saved her. She ran past the cook and to the woman, terrified for her new friends and also for herself. She stopped in front of the woman with arms wide open, as if to protect the crew. Sanji moved behind the little girl, ready to protect her in case anything happened.

"Maya, it's me, Abi! Don't hurt Sanji and the others! They haven't done anything! They're good pirates, they saved me when I was about to die! Please don't hurt him!"

The woman looked at her, astonished. For a second, it seemed like she didn't recognize her but after a moment, she grabbed her arms and yanked her closer.

"Abi! What the hell are you doing with pirates?"

"I told you, they saved me! They're good pirates, Maya, please don't hurt them!"

The woman looked at her as if she was crazy. "Abi, there's no such things as good pirates; pirates are pirates— bad people. Now come here, behind me."

The girl didn't let her grab her again. Instead she ran to Sanji and hid behind his legs. "No! I'm not coming with you! If I come with you, you'll hurt them, because you think they're bad! But they're good, I swear!"

The woman was going to reply to her when a young woman ran into the center of the square. "Abi! Abi, is that you? Oh, God, thank you!"

She launched herself at the little girl, knocking aside Sanji. The woman hugged Abi tightly and started kissing her cheeks and forehead. The girl started crying and hugged the woman back, who was certainly her sister.

"I'm sorry, sister! I'm really…"

The woman shook her head, still crying and hugged her again. "It's not important. You're safe, and that's what is important."

Their reunion was interrupted by the woman whose name was Maya. She punched the girl in her head angrily. "You're really a pain. Your sister was really upset. She hasn't done anything other than cry for days."

The girl blushed and sniffed a little, feeling ashamed. Her sister finally noticed the group behind the little girl and suddenly blushed. She was obviously ashamed of what had happened in front of them. She got up and dried her tears. She tried to smile gently at them.

"Sorry, I didn't see you. I'm Midori, Abi's sister. I'm so glad you saved her."

Rufy stepped up and shook her hand.

"I'm Rufy, the captain. We're not bad pirates. We're good ones. We're here just to bring back Abi and to buy supplies for our ship, that's all."

"Thank you a lot. I owe you all…"

Abi grabbed her sister's dress to gain her attention again. "Midori, they're good, see? They don't want to do bad things! Please tell Maya not to hurt them!"

The woman smiled and nodded, looking at the head of the village in a knowing way. Maya tried to resist for a moment but in the end, she finally gave in and lowered her gun. "Fine. If that's the case, I should apologize. We thought you were attacking us but you were just bringing back our Abi. We're really sorry. Please accept my apology."

She bowed to the crew. Rufy smiled, happy to see that she had finally understood. "It's not a problem!"

The head of the village turned to the villagers and signaled for them to move away. "Alright people, lower your weapons and go back inside, they're good pirates!"

At that moment, Nami noticed that among all the people, there weren't any men. They were all women, young women and girls, visibly relieved by fact that they didn't have to fight. Maya grabbed Rufy's hand and shook it with energy.

"I'm Maya, the head of this village. Welcome to Kosey! Sorry again for the cold welcome, but we're not used to pirates. Thank you very much for bringing Abi home." She turned to the child, who was trying to hide herself behind Sanji and took her by the ear. "Later, we'll settle things. You've got to apologize for running away from home and also for stealing Mei's boat. I hope that you have treated it well!"

The mortified looks that Maya received from Abi and Rufy spoke volumes. The captain smiled nervously, looking at his feet. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but the boat was destroyed while we were trying to save Abi. We will refund you for the damages!"

Maya looked at him briefly and then again at Abi. She was clearly pissed now. She gave another sharp tug to the child's ear. "Don't worry, it's not your fault. It was Abi who took it without permission, so you have nothing to apologize for. She'll repay Mei for her boat."

The child nodded in silence. She was so afraid of Maya that she didn't dare speak. Abi's sister put a hand on Maya's arm and smiled to her. "We'll pay Mei back, don't worry. Tomorrow morning, I'll go to her with the money."

"No, Midori. You're not going to pay for her. She has done the damage, and she will pay for it herself. If you protect her like this all the time, she'll never learn how to behave correctly."

"But she's just a child…"

"You were also a child when you started taking care of her."

The young woman didn't respond. She just lowered her gaze and looked at her sister. "Alright, from tomorrow on, you'll help Mei. You'll do whatever she asks you to do without a word and with your work, you'll repay her." Abi agreed without saying anything. The young woman smiled and hugged her again. "Don't ever do this to me again, understand? I don't know what I would have done without you."

The child began to cry again while hugging her. Her sister was trying not to cry again, but eventually she buried her face in Abi's hair and sobbed a little.

"Stupid child."

When they were done crying, the two sisters parted, and the young woman looked closer at Rufy and the crew. She smiled awkwardly and bowed a little toward them.

"Thanks a lot, really. I don't know how to repay you. I'm sorry she has caused you trouble."

Sanji immediately stepped forward. He was in Pervert Mode. Nami shook her head; of course he was, Abi's sister was small but had a nice figure. She had long, curly brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. She was probably the same age as the navigator. She was pretty— really pretty. Sanji took Midori's hands and started with his usual approach.

"She has not been any trouble. It has been a pleasure to bring her back to you, I…"

Nami grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back, leaving the woman a little stunned. "Don't mind him. It has not been any trouble, really. We were heading here anyway; there was no reason not to bring Abi with us."

The woman nodded and took her sister by the hand. "I'm relieved to hear that. My name's Midori."

Nami smiled and presented herself and the crew.

After the introductions, Midori said, "I'd like to repay you for what you've done. I'm the owner of the village inn, and I will give you free rooms for the night. You're welcome to stay as long as you want."

Before Nami could respond, Rufy, Usopp, and Chopper had already accepted. The perspective of a soft bed was really tempting for them since they slept in hammocks every night. Midori smiled, happy to have convinced them, and invited them to follow her. Franky headed toward the ship, saying that he would come to the inn with Brook. In the meantime, the small square was emptied out. Since there wasn't any need to fight, the women returned home to their domestic chores. While they were going to the inn, the rest of the crew finally noticed that there were no men.

Robin got close to Midori while they were walking. "I've noticed that there aren't any males here."

The woman sadly looked at her and shook her head. "Yes, all the men of this village have been killed." They all looked at her incredulously. She smiled sadly and shook her head again. "Pirates came here years ago. Our men tried to stop them when they reached the island but… they were all killed."

For some time, no one said anything. However, Midori's story wasn't finished yet.

"The captain of the pirates was a gigantic and strong man… Nobody could defeat him. Someone said that he had eaten a devil fruit and that he had gained superhuman strength, but I think that he was simply too strong for us. He slaughtered all the men that tried to fight him and when he finished, he decided to punish us for our insolence… He ordered his men to kill every man in the village. Since only males knew how to fight or were enough strong to fight, he wouldn't leave any man alive."

She stopped for an instant, trying to find the strength to go on.

"He didn't have any pity and for years he remained on the island ruling over it as he liked. His men were drunk all day, and they fought all the time between themselves. The women of the village had to do everything they said or they would have been punished. I was only thirteen years old, therefore they didn't consider me, but the other women…"

Abi tightened her hold on Midori's hand to encourage her.

"Eventually they went away; they had used all the resources and the women of the island to their hearts' content, and they were tired, I guess. One day, they simply loaded the ship of all the precious things we possessed and went away. We were free at last. From that day on, we tried to return to our normal lives but without men. A lot of us had to adapt, learn the works of our husbands to succeed in helping the village go on."

Robin put a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "I'm sorry to have made you tell us such a painful story."

The woman dried her tears with the back of her hand. "Don't worry, I'm fine. It has been so many years that we all have come to terms with it. We have been lucky even though our father was owner of the inn and was killed, like the other men. Thanks to Maya, we have survived those years. She taught me how to take care of Abi and how to run the inn. We owe her a lot."

They all nodded their agreement and followed Midori in silence. Nobody wanted to talk; the story that had just been told was so dramatic. Everyone was wondering what kind of man could do such a thing. Rufy was angry at the unknown captain, thinking about how he would have liked to punch him in the face. Everybody else was thinking the same thought, although everyone was thinking about hitting him in a different way.

They finally reached the inn, and Midori made them enter. She offered them supper but since they had already dined, they refused the offer, thanking her. Rufy was the only one who was hungry and protested this refusal but a punch to the back of the head by Nami silenced him. Abi showed them to their rooms on the first floor. Since nobody else was staying in the inn, they had plenty of rooms, so everybody got a room for himself. Rufy and Usopp immediately started to quarrel over who got the biggest room while Sanji started to fight with Zoro. He wanted the swordsman's room since it was close to Nami and Robin's rooms. Midori observed them, smiling, and helped them settle in. When everyone retired for the night, she went down to the ground floor to talk with her sister. Abi sat on a chair near a table, eating fruit. Her sister sat in front of her and looked at the girl seriously.

"You've been a fool. What did you think you were doing?"

The child finished peeling an apple before answering. "You know what I was thinking. It must be me. I'm the one who has the right to find him; I'm your sister, it's the tradition."

Midori cast her a severe glance and shook her head. "You're too young Abi, and you know it. Maya has offered to replace you, and I think it's a good idea. She's smart; I'm sure she'll make a good choice. You know that we can't wait any longer. I'm running out of time."

Abi smiled, sure of herself, and ate a slice of apple, savoring it for awhile. "There's no need for Maya to take my place. I have found him, and I believe that he's the right choice. He's perfect."

The woman looked surprised by her affirmation. "What?"

"I said that I've found him. Do you think that I would have returned if I hadn't found him? I have fulfilled my duty: I have brought you your husband."


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Five

The morning after their arrival, Sanji woke up before the others. Being the cook, he had to prepare breakfast before the rest of the crew woke up. He dressed quickly, and still a little drowsy, he headed to the kitchen on the ground floor. He had seen where the kitchen was the evening before and wanted to prepare breakfast for all of them, Abi and Midori included. He crossed the threshold but stopped immediately; someone was already in the kitchen. Midori was busy cooking breakfast and didn't see him enter. Sanji knocked on the door, and the young woman turned quickly around, a little startled. When she saw him, she smiled a little, relieved, and returned to cooking.

"I'm sorry, did I frighten you?"

"No, no. It's just that I'm not used to seeing someone up this early in the morning— apart from me, of course. You know, Abi is capable of sleeping through the entire day if I don't wake her up."

Sanji snorted and thought about Rufy, who was capable of sleeping a week without waking up.

"I see that you're an early person. Is the rest of your crew awake? Breakfast is almost ready, so you won't have to wait long…"

The cook drew near to the stoves to see what she was preparing; the smell was delicious. "Don't worry, they aren't awake yet. I always wake up earlier to prepare breakfast."

Midori blushed a little. "Ah, right, Abi told me that you are the cook of the ship."

Sanji nodded and observed her cook for some time. "I see that you are a cook as well."

The woman blushed and avoided his look. "No, no, I am not a cook. I mean, I cook, but certainly I cannot be compared to a cook like you. Abi says that you are a really good cook..."

She abruptly stopped speaking, noticing that she was babbling. Sanji smiled at her as if he hadn't noticed. "Well, let me decide if you're a good cook or not." He took a spoon and tasted the sauce she was making for the rice. He savored it for some seconds. "It's really good. You're a really good cook."

Midori blushed and bowed her head, trying to hide her face. "You're saying that only to please me."

While she was hiding her face, he did a little dance like he always did when he was flirting with someone. He couldn't help it; sometimes his foolishness prevailed over his aplomb. Luckily, she didn't see him and when she returned to look at him, he was "normal" again— as normal as a pervert could be.

"I can be a good cook, but certainly I'm not of your level."

The cook leaned on the counter and lit a cigarette. "I've worked as a cook since I was a child, so I've got a little more experience than you do, that's all."

Midori continued preparing breakfast while listening to him intently. "Really? You worked in a restaurant?"

"Well, kind of. It was a ship restaurant in the middle of the ocean."

Midori looked at him, incredulous. She had never heard of a restaurant on a ship. After some encouragement, Sanji started to tell her about his life, like how it was living at a restaurant whose principal clients were pirates, and how it was living on a pirate's ship. He told her about their fights, and how they won. Midori listened to him all this time, asking him question and for clarifications. After awhile, Sanji started helping her; he couldn't let a woman do everything— he was a gentleman. He continued to flirt with her until Rufy stormed into the room.

"I'm hungryyyyy! Sanji, give me something to eat! I want meat!"

The cook answered him with a rotating kick that sent him to the wall. "Stupid captain! How many times do I have to tell you that you can't storm into a kitchen like that? Besides, we are guests, idiot! You can't behave like this in the house of others! Apologize to Midori, now!"

The rubber boy looked at her, perplexed for a moment as if he didn't understand, but when he saw that Sanji was about to give him another kick, he quickly bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Midori, please accept my apology."

The woman chuckled and waved a hand. Abi was right— they were funny. "There's no problem, Rufy. Breakfast is ready, so I'll serve it now."

"Is there meat?"

"Moron! Get out, now!"

The boy jumped and disappeared out the door before Sanji could kick him again. The cook looked at the door, fairly irritated. He turned to Midori and took her hands. "I apologize for his rudeness, sweet Midori. He's just a monkey who doesn't know how to behave. He doesn't know how to be a gentleman."

The young woman looked a little startled because of his sudden change of behavior, but she dismissed it quickly and smiled at him. "Don't worry, I find his vitality nice."

Sanji looked at the door with angry eyes. "At least one of us thinks of it that way."

With the help of some trays, they served breakfast to the crew who was now sitting at a table in the center of the room. Rufy was eager to eat as usual; as soon as they placed the trays on the table, he grabbed a tray and started to swallow its contents. Nami gave him a blow to the nape of the neck that made him hit the edge of the table with his forehead.

"Before you swallow all the food like an animal, common people usually thank the people who cooked it."

Rufy swallowed the mega bite that was still in his mouth. After some choking, he smiled happily at the young woman. "Thanks, Midori, for the breakfast!"

That said, he restarted to eat. Nami put a hand to her face, shaking her head, while the others started to eat as if nothing had happened. They were all used to his bad manners; that's why sometimes even Nami forgot his rudeness. Also Abi, after only three days, had understood how pointless it was to try to teach him some manners.

After breakfast, Nami asked Midori where they could purchase the things they needed for the ship. The woman answered that they were a poor village but that they would try to help them anyway. The food wasn't a problem, but for the other things, they would have to talk with the blacksmith; surely she could be able to supply them with what they needed. Nami thanked her and gave orders. Usopp was sent with Abi to the blacksmith with a list of things that they needed while Sanji had to go buy the food.

Midori got up and smiled politely at Nami. "If you want, I can accompany him to the market. I know all the sellers, and I'm sure they'll give me a good price."

Sanji started to look at her adoringly. He couldn't believe that she was volunteering to go with him to the market. She was so nice. He started to sway around with heart-shaped eyes. "You're sooooo sweet, Midori!"

The young woman chuckled at his behavior. He ran out to prepare himself, shouting that he would be back within minutes. Nami reached for Midori's arm and whispered in her ear, "Are you sure? I don't know what Abi has told you about him, but…"

"It's okay, Nami, don't worry. Abi has told me that he's funny."

"Well, that's not exactly true…"

"He's not funny? I found him quite entertaining while we were in the kitchen."

"Yea, he's funny, but he's also a perv…"

At that moment, Sanji reappeared in the room dressed in a white shirt that showed off his well-built chest and tight black pants. He reached for Midori's hand and showed her the way out. "I'm ready, shall we go?"

Midori smiled politely and nodded. They exited the room and left Nami behind, speechless. Did she just see a woman accept Sanji's attention? How could she? He was… Sanji! Robin was about to whisper something to her when Abi attracted their attention with a suggestion that was welcomed by all the crew.

"You know, not too far away from the village, there's a nice beach. It's great at this time of year; you can also swim if you want."

Rufy started to jump around singing about playing in the sand. Nami immediately forgot everything related to the cook and clapped her hands together. She was so going to love a little break, relaxing on the beach with no worries. It was going to be perfect. The only one who was not so happy with the idea was Usopp.

"Eeeh? Why do I have run errands while you all have fun? It isn't fair."

Franky, who was next to him, put a hand on his shoulder with enough strength to make him stagger. "Don't worry, we'll wait for you to swim. We'll also wait for you before we have a sandcastle competition."

The sniper looked at Franky with a touched and adoring look. With tears in his eyes, he jumped and hugged him. "Oh, Franky, I adore you! You're the best!" Usopp suddenly parted from him and took Abi's hand, dragging her out of the inn. "Let's go, Abi! We must finish soon so that we can go to the beach with the others!"

When the door closed behind them, Franky snorted before smiling malevolent. "I can't believe he bought it. He's so naïve sometimes."

The others chuckled a little. Despite the fact that he was a liar, Usopp was the most gullible person in the crew, apart from Rufy.

At the market, Midori helped Sanji with choosing food for the ship. He quickly learned that she was very kind and gentle. She always had a word for every seller and was always nice, but she wouldn't let them take advantage of her. She understood right away when they were trying to trick her. After some time, he developed a real admiration for her. She seemed all nice and polite, but when pushed, she could easily become a fighter.

They passed the entire morning at the market, buying food for the ship and also for the inn. She asked him to help her cook lunch and teach her some new recipes. He agreed eagerly and started explaining to her some recipes he had invented and recipes that he usually cooked when he worked at the Baratie.

They brought the supplies to the Thousand Sunny, and Sanji showed her the ship. Midori was surprised by its small size.

"That's such a small ship; I would have never thought that such a nice ship could be owned by pirates. It doesn't have the look of a pirate ship, apart from the black flag."

The cook chuckled and told her that this was Franky's ship and that their other ship— the one that had been destroyed, the Going Merry— wasn't a classic pirate ship either. He started to tell her their adventures and how he ended up sailing with Rufy, Usopp, Nami, and Zoro. He told her everything about , how it was living on a ship all the time, how he had developed a strong friendship with all the members of the group (even Zoro), and how Rufy was a good captain, even if it didn't seem that way.

"Wow, you've traveled a lot!"

"Yes; at times it feels like I've spent my whole life with them. We're like family, you know."

"That's so nice."

He noticed her staring at him with soft eyes and tried to change the subject a little, embarassed . "What about you and Abi? You don't have any other family?" The woman shook her head and looked a little sad. Even if it had been a long time since her parents died, it was still painful. Sanji mentally kicked himself for making her sad. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"

"No, it's alright. You don't have to be sorry."

She started to tell him about her life, how her mother died shortly after her father's death and how she had raised Abi with Maya's help. She told him about what it was like living with a younger sister to take care of. She thanked Maya every day for helping them. "For us, it's difficult to trust strangers, especially pirates. You are different, though, you don't look like pirates."

Sanji chuckled a little. "Well, we're not common pirates, we are good pirates. We don't hurt people; we just want to travel the world."

He started to tell her everything about his dream to find All Blue and the dreams of the others. Time passed quickly while they were chatting. They shared impressions and talked a lot, and neither of them wanted to stop talking.

Nobody noticed Sanji's absence until lunch. Chopper got up from the beach towel and stretched a bit, looking around for the cook. It was unusual for him not to be around when Nami and Robin were in bikinis.

"Where's Sanji?"

Nico Robin lowered the book she was reading and looked at the reindeer. "Maybe he's still buying supplies."

Zoro, who was training nearby, made a sound of derision. "He's probably trying to seduce all the nice women without success. This place must seem like heaven to him."

Nobody found that strange and returned to what they were doing; everybody knew that Sanji lost his head completely when there were beautiful women— he was a total pervert. Usopp had arrived an hour ago, complaining about the fact that they had lied to him and hadn't waited for him to swim. He was now building a sandcastle with Rufy. At noon, Rufy's internal clock told him that it was lunchtime and left Usopp and the castle to run to the rest of the crew.

"Sanji, I'm hungry! I want to eat!"

Nami got up and stretched, looking around in search of the cook. When she noticed he wasn't around, she looked a little surprised. She turned to Rufy, who was jumping around calling for Sanji. "Rufy, Sanji isn't here."

"What? But I'm hungry!"

Robin closed her book and got up, catching his attention. "We should return to the inn. He's probably there waiting for us; we didn't tell him where we were going. It's logical that he hasn't shown up."

Abi grabbed the backpack that Usopp was carrying when they arrived and opened it, showing them its contents. "If you want to eat, I've brought lunch. I think it's enough for everyone, and if it isn't, there are fruit trees in that direction. I thought that you would like to spend all day on the beach and have lunch here."

Everyone accepted the idea, and they started to have lunch, forgetting the cook's absence. When they were finished, Usopp, Chopper, Rufy, Abi, and Franky started a lively competition to see who could make the best sandcastle while Zoro went back to training, and Brook strummed something on his violin. Nami and Robin lay on beach towels and started speaking without worrying about anyone eavesdropping. Nami was eager to know about Robin's impression of the village.

"I don't know; their story doesn't convince me."

"Why?"

"A pirate that killed all the males of the island? How have they survived all this years without men? It's impossible that nobody has passed by since then, I've seen children who were less than ten years old while we were coming to the beach. Some men must have passed by, and if they have and women have gotten pregnant, why would all of them leave? There are parts of the story that don't make sense."

"Maybe the kids are the children of the pirates from the story. Surely some women got pregnant while they were staying here. They stayed for some time, right?"

"Nami, the children I've seen were all female. None of them were male. Doesn't that seem strange to you? Even if some women got pregnant while the pirates were staying, it's impossible that all the children were female."

Nami was starting to run out of ideas. "Maybe the pirates brought the male children with them when they left, or maybe they killed them. After what Midori said, it doesn't seem to me that the captain was in his right mind."

Nico Robin didn't say anything for awhile, thinking about everything that that they had seen and heard since they'd disembarked. In the meantime, Nami was doing the exact same thing. Robin's doubt had raised doubt in her own mind, something she had to think about. She looked at Abi, who was playing with the others. Usopp and Rufy were destroying each other's sandcastles while Abi cheered first the captain on and then the sniper, all the time laughing. Robin followed her gaze and stared at the girl.

"We should be careful with these people. They're not telling us the entire truth, and I fear that something bad could happen if we don't pay attention."

The navigator nodded and continued to watch the struggle. Rufy was winning, and Usopp was holding his nose while watching the rubber boy finish demolishing the siren that the sniper had made. A sense of uneasiness started crawl its way into her mind. Robin was one of the smartest members of the crew, and she was always right when she made any deductions. After spending some time thinking about Robin had said, Nami admitted that she was right; there were things that didn't make any sense. Suddenly, she felt the impulse to take everyone and leave the island immediately. She didn't know why, but the archaeologist's doubts had made her anxious, and she couldn't help but feel that something bad was coming.

When they returned to the inn that evening, they found supper already served on the table and a message from Midori. Abi read it and said that Midori and Sanji wouldn't be dining with them. Midori had taken the cook to an old woman in the village so he could learn the recipe of an apple cake that he had tasted and found delicious. Rufy immediately started to swallow supper with the others while Robin asked Abi about the old woman.

"Ah, it must be Keni. You know, she makes the best apple cake in the entire world. Once tasted, you can't stop until you've finished it. If you want, we have some here."

Rufy, while swallowing a bit of grilled meat, put up his hand and nodded frantically. "Alright, I'll go get it!"

The girl ran to get the cake while the rest of the crew continued to eat. The entire time, Nami didn't talk and almost didn't eat. Soon, she excused herself, saying that she wasn't feeling well and that she wanted to go to bed. Chopper immediately went into doctor mode. He jumped away from the table and put a hand on her forehead while checking her pulse with his other.

"What do you have? Do you feel feverish…?"

"Thank you, Chopper, but I'm alright. It's just a headache. I just need to lie down a bit, and tomorrow I'll be fine. Maybe it was the sun."

The small reindeer didn't insist and for that, she was thankful. She didn't want to start discussing; she just wanted to lie down in bed and stop thinking for awhile. She hadn't done anything but think about Robin's ideas all day and now her head hurt. Furthermore, the uneasiness she had started to feel at lunch hadn't left her the entire day. She had tried to think about something else, but every time she just went back to thinking about all the strange little things that had happened until then.

First of all, the fact that there weren't men and secondly, the fact that Sanji hadn't been around all day. As Zoro had said, he was a pervert and he often tried to seduce nice women, but it wasn't like him to ignore his crew an entire day because of some women.

Suddenly, the image of Sanji and Midori leaving the inn together appeared in her mind, and she felt a sudden wave of anger. Midori was another thing that she couldn't quite understand. Nami couldn't believe that the other woman could reciprocate Sanji's attention. She immediately pushed the thought away; it wasn't her business. Sanji was a pervert who acted like an idiot with all beautiful women.

She entered her room and soon enough she was in bed with her eyes closed. Sleep, however, didn't come, and her thoughts didn't want to stop bothering her. She returned to thinking about the cook. It wasn't normal; Sanji had never acted like this before. Of course he always ran after nice women when they were in a village, but he had never left the group to be with them for an entire day. She tried to push the thought away from her mind, but it was useless.

After what felt like ages spent thinking, she heard a knock on the door. She got up from the bed and went to open the door, thankful for the distraction from her thoughts. She opened the door and found Robin on the other side.

"Can I come in?"

Nami left the door open behind her and went to sit on the edge of her bed. The archaeologist closed the door behind her and stopped in the center of the room, staring at the furniture for some time. After awhile, she looked at Nami. "Are you alright? I noticed how distracted you were during supper."

The navigator smiled carelessly and waved a hand as if to push away that thought. "Don't worry, I'm fine, I've just got a headache. Nothing that a night's sleep can't heal." Robin's silence spoke volumes. Nami immediately understood that her friend didn't believe her. Damn it, she just wasn't naïve like the others. "Robin, I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about."

"Really? It doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Sanji hasn't shown up the whole day?"

Nami was sure her face wasn't showing enough indifference but decided to continue the act she had put up. "Sanji hasn't shown up today? I hadn't noticed!"

She started to laugh but soon it was all too clear that she was lying. The laughter died in her throat after a few seconds and, exhausted, she lay down on the bed with her arms spread wide open, looking up at the ceiling. She couldn't bear Robin's inquiring look right then. She exhaled a sigh of resignation.

"Alright, perhaps I've noticed it— a little. But that's not the problem; I've thought all day about what you've told me. I think you're right; there are things that they haven't told us and other things that don't make sense."

The archaeologist sat on a chair and crossed her arms. "I think we should leave this place as soon as possible."

The navigator didn't look at her friend and just nodded. She was thinking the same thing. The impulse to just grab everyone and leave the island hadn't left her since that afternoon. She began to think about all the things that they needed to do in order to leave the village as soon as possible.

"Tomorrow, we must talk to Rufy. Sanji should have already bought all the supplies that we need, and Usopp said that within two days we should have everything he ordered from the blacksmith."

"I suggest leaving even if we don't have the things he ordered."

Nami nodded and closed her eyes. She was tired, and her head had started to really hurt. "Don't you think that it's strange that Sanji hasn't come back to us since this morning?" The archaeologist smiled at her politely and looked at her, waiting for more. She expected the navigator to talk about it eventually. She could see how much it bothered her. "I don't know. I think that it's strange. We all know that he runs after every pretty woman he sees but... Ha has never acted like this," Nami continued.

Robin looked at her with pity. Sometimes her friend could fool herself with her own lies. She knew that Nami was interested in the cook but that she refused to acknowledge it. She decided to push her a little. "Maybe Midori has encouraged him; that could explain their absence today."

Nami didn't respond and just stared at the ceiling. The archeologist thought she had seen a flash of anger pass over the navigator's face but quickly dismissed it. Robin got up from the chair and headed to the door. Once she'd opened, she turned to her friend.

"Good night, Nami. Have a nice rest."

"Good night, Robin."

When the door closed behind the other woman, Nami turned her face to the wall and closed her eyes, deciding not to think about anything. Somehow, she managed to do it, but she dreamt all night about Sanji and Midori and bad things happening to the crew. When she woke up in the morning, she didn't feel well-rested and was even more anxious than the evening before.


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Six

They remained in the village for almost a week. The blacksmith that had promised the pieces to Usopp had had some difficulty retrieving them, and therefore they had to wait. Nobody thought that it was strange that they were delayed except Nami, Nico Robin, and Zoro. Even the swordsman had started to suspect something after a few days. They had tried to talk to the others about their suspicions, but nobody wanted to pay attention. Rufy refused to believe that someone so kind and helpful was plotting against them, and the rest of the crew thought the same thing. Nobody apart from them seemed to suspect anything.

Nami was always on edge; she was always waiting for something bad to happen. She always checked their food, searching for poison or anything else, and had also started to observe Abi's behavior in a different kind of way. It seemed to her that the little girl was helping her sister find every excuse to remain alone with Sanji. However, apart from that, up to that moment there wasn't anything suspicious. Even the continuous disappearances of Sanji with Midori were beginning to look normal to the crew. Those disappearances, however, were exactly what made Nami so anxious. Every time they disappeared for some time, she got nervous. Besides, Sanji had started to behave in a strange way— he didn't make his usual declarations of love anymore to Robin and her, even though he continued to treat them with the same maximum respect as before. He also didn't give them the same special attention to which they had grown accustomed.

"He's like infatuated with her; they don't do anything other than go out for a walk or cook together. And then Abi doesn't do anything other than take us out so they can remain alone; it's as if she wants us to forget about Sanji's absence."

The navigator and Robin, who was getting dressed for another day on the beach, were in the archeologist's room. Since the first day, they hadn't done anything other than to go to the beach. It seemed like a real vacation to all of them. Nami was on the bed looking at her friend.

"I don't really understand what has gotten into him."

The archaeologist smiled and tied her hair in a little bun on top of her head. "Maybe he has finally found the woman that he really likes."

Nami was amazed and incredulous at her words. "Midori? Really?"

"Why not? She isn't an ugly woman, and she can cook well. Two qualities that I believe our chef appreciates. And don't forget that she is encouraging him— quite a lot from what I can see. Now, she doesn't even bother her to encourage him in front of us. She flirts openly now."

Nami made a disgusted face and looked at the wall in front of her. As if she couldn't notice it. In those past few days, it had been like Midori was glued to Sanji. She didn't leave him a second, as if he would get away from her! The anger was eating Nami alive; she barely could bear this situation.

Above all, she couldn't bear the kindness of Midori. It was difficult for Nami act impolitely when she was so gentle. If she had been unpleasant, at least Nami wouldn't have had any remorse for acting like a bitch, but in this situation, she had to smile and pretend that it was alright.

"I assure you, I'll explode if they continue exchanging allusive glances all the time we're with them."

They did it all the time when they thought nobody was looking at them. Well, nobody looked at them apart from Nami, but that was because she watched them all the time. She was so worn out and angry that she couldn't bear the proximity of anybody other than Robin. She was the only one that understood her, or at least she was the only one who listened to her willingly.

"We must leave this island, or I'll go crazy. I swear that sooner or later, I'll punch Sanji."

Robin smiled and turned to her friend. She was pale and had dark shadows under her eyes; she didn't sleep well and was always nervous and bitchy. That's why all the members of the crew had started to avoid her. Everybody was waiting the moment she would explode.

"Don't you think that you should talk to Sanji? Explain to him what you're feeling?"

"Sure… 'Sanji, would you please stop acting like a lovesick puppy with Midori? You know every time I see it, I want to puke.' …Yeah, that should work just fine."

"Well, I didn't mean an explanation like that. I meant something like, 'Sanji, I think I like you.' I believe that should work."

The expression of pure amazement and incredulity on Nami was priceless. "What? What are you talking about? I don't—"

"Oh come on, Nami, anyone can see it. Since he started to spend all his time with Midori and _court her,_ you have become unbearable. Don't try to deny it. Lately, Usopp and Chopper run away from the room when you walk in. If this is not a clear sign of the fact that you like him…"

"That's not true. I don't like Sanji. I mean, have you seen him?"

Robin turned around and stared Nami in the eyes. "Have _you_ seen him?"

That response left her speechless. Of course she had seen him; that was the point. It was Sanji they were talking about, the man who didn't do anything other than treat her like a princess. The man who would have done anything to make her happy. She immediately pushed these thoughts from her mind, frightened by the possible implications of them. She didn't like Sanji, period.

"Come on, Robin, we know I can't like him. He's a pervert who runs after every nice woman he meets!"

"Yes, you're right, but until now, despite all the nice women he has met, he has never stopped treating you like a princess. Now it's different, and you know it. That's why you're so angry and so anxious."

The woman puffed and got up from the bed, pacing up and down the room. "Have you forgotten that he treats you the same way he treats me?"

"Yes, but it's not me who's becoming furious, because he's got puppy eyes for another woman."

Nami tossed her hands up in the air. "Okay, fine! It bothers me a little! Alright, I've said it, are you happy now? But it doesn't bother me in the way that you mean, believe me. You know him, and you know the kind of person that I am. I could never fall in love with someone like him. It only bothers me, because I was comfortable when he treated me like a princess, that's all."

The archaeologist decided not to push her further. It was useless to try to convince Nami; she needed to understand it by herself, on her own time. It was already a victory that she had admitted that the relationship between the cook and Midori bothered her. She took the sea purse and looked at herself one last time.

"I'm ready; we can go."

The navigator nodded and opened the door, following her friend out of the room. All she could think about were of Robin's words, _'Have you seen him?'_

That afternoon, finally, the pieces for the ship arrived, and Usopp paid the blacksmith. They were ready to go, and Nami lost no time warning the crew that the following day they would set sail.

Her decision met a lot of protests— above all from Usopp, Rufy, and Franky— but one deadly glance from her immediately reduced them to silence. Abi and Midori tried to convince them to stay, but she had made her decision. They would depart the following morning. To say that Nami was happy was an understatement. Finally, she would stop worrying about the village and about Sanji, and everything would return to normal. She was so glad that for the whole evening, she acted like the nicest woman in the entire world with everybody, even Sanji. The tension that had accumulated in the preceding days faded in an instant. The change left the entire crew perplexed, but after Zoro had received a painful kick in the leg from under the table when he had asked about why she was being so nice, nobody said anything more about it. They wanted to live.

The evening passed quietly and after supper they all went upstairs to start getting ready for the departure. Nami was in her room, humming while folding her clothes, when Robin entered without knocking. The navigator was surprised by that action since Robin was always very polite; it wasn't like her to storm into the room of someone else without knocking first. That meant only one thing for Nami: trouble. Suddenly, she thought about an ambush by the people of the village. With her hand, she searched for the ClimaTact that she always had with her.

"What's up, Robin?"

She wouldn't look her in the eyes, which was strange. "Nami… I have to tell you something…"

"What? Are we about to be attacked?"

Robin shook her head, and Nami furrowed her brow. If it wasn't an attack, what would make the archaeologist act like that? "Robin? What's the prob—?"

"Sanji just talked to Rufy."

Nami didn't understand what she meant. Sanji had talked to Rufy, and then…? Robin saw that she wasn't understanding and started to explain.

"He talked to Rufy, and he said that he doesn't want to leave. Ha wants to stay here… with Midori."

For a moment, Nami still didn't understand, but then the absurdity of what she had just heard struck her, and she started to laugh without control. "What are you talking about? Sanji doesn't want to come with us… That has to be a joke!"

When she saw that her friend wasn't laughing, however, she immediately stopped. What? Sanji wouldn't return to the Thousand Sunny with them? She didn't even know what to think.

"But how… Why…?"

Robin shook her head, just as disheartened. "He said that he's fallen in love with Midori, and that he wants to stay here."

Suddenly, the weight of what Robin had just said fell on her, and Nami realized for the first time that it wasn't a joke or a nightmare. It was really happening.

"But that's impossible! Sanji would never abandon us like that! He's a pervert but… He has to find All Blue!"

Robin didn't know how to sooth the pain that was now visible on her face. She was just as surprised as the others. She wasn't present when Sanji had communicated his decision to Rufy; she had learned about it from Usopp, who had eavesdropped on the conversation. From what Usopp had told her, Sanji had told Rufy that he didn't have any intention of continuing their journey. He had found a place where he could have a family.

Rufy had tried to convince him to depart with them, but his determination had won in the end, and Rufy had been forced to accept the cook's decision. When she finished relaying the story Usopp had told her, Nami was incredulous.

"What? What do you mean Rufy was forced to accept? He just needed to give him a blow to the head and drag him on the ship!"

Without thinking, she got up from the bed on which she had sat in order to avoid falling down from shock. Nico Robin tried to stop her but couldn't. She opened the door with enough strength to make it slam against the wall and stepped into the corridor.

"What do you want to do?"

The navigator didn't even bother to look back at her; she was marching straight to the cook's room. "I want to drag his sorry ass on board after giving him a blow to the head!"

She didn't even knock, she just slammed open the door and marched inside the room. Sanji was on the bed reading a book. When he saw her, he just remained still, staring at her with the cigarette that hung from his lips and an amazed and alarmed look on his face. He had immediately understood that her enraged expression meant trouble.

"Nami, what—?"

"Is it true that tomorrow you won't leave with us?"

The question came out spontaneously. It was the moment of truth. She didn't know why, but she still hoped that Usopp had told one of his usual lies. In that moment, she was praying that it was a whole tall tale made up by Usopp. If it was a lie, she wasn't even going to hit him, she would have been too glad.

The cook shook his head and seated himself on the bed. His look was sure but also a little sad. "Yes, I've decided to stay."

"Why?"

The question had risen without her thinking about it. She knew the answer to that question, but she had to hear it for herself. She had to hear him tell her that it was for that woman. Sanji hesitated for an instant; he didn't know how to answer her without hurting her. Eventually, he decided to tell her the whole truth.

"Because I'm in love with Midori, and today, after you announced that we were departing, I decided that I didn't want to leave. I want to stay here with her, Nami. I want to marry her."

That last part struck her so strongly that she staggered for an instant and had to grab the wall in order to not fall. Holding back the tears that she felt coming, she looked at him full in the face. He was sincere, and he was also convinced of what he was saying. But how could he tell her something like that? How could he be so ready to throw everything away for a woman that he had known for only a week and _marry_ her even? Her rational side tried to explain it by saying that it wasn't such strange behavior for Sanji— he was a pervert after all. If a woman showed a certain interest in him, it was more than natural for him to take advantage of it.

However, Nami refused that thought. Taking advantage of the situation was one thing, but marrying Midori? No, it was too much, even for Sanji. There was something behind all this that she couldn't quite catch yet; her instinct told her so.

"Sanji... You don't know her. We've been here only a week, how can you know that...?"

The cook smiled like an idiot; he seemed truly happy. "I just know it. When you fall in love with someone, you just feel it. And I am in love with Midori."

The navigator tried not to cry. She wouldn't cry; she wouldn't show any emotion apart from the anger that she was feeling right now. Even if sadness was mounting and it was killing her, she refused to register it. With the force of desperation, she pushed away every sense of despair and sadness and kept only rage. She finally decided to use her last card.

"What about All Blue? Didn't you want to find it?"

The cook shook his head, looking at her with something that resembled pity. "I'm sorry, but it doesn't interest me anymore. After all, it is nothing but a daydream. If I leave with you in search of All Blue, I would just lose the most important thing in the world. How could I abandon sure happiness for a dream that probably doesn't even exist?"

For a moment, she thought that someone had replaced him. The true Sanji would never have spoken like that. All Blue was his dream from when he was a child, a dream that he had often defended against the skepticism of his companions and against the derision of his enemies. She couldn't believe that he was prepared to abandon his dream so quickly, even if it was for love. There was something behind all this— she was sure of it. Something that had to do with Midori and with her village of only women. Her thoughts were interrupted by Sanji, who got up and approached her, smiling.

"Won't you wish me good luck with Midori? After all, we are friends and since you are going to leave tomorrow..."

He didn't finish his sentence. Her answer to that was instinctive: her body acted, and she couldn't stop it. She gave the cook one of her most deadly punches, right in the face. It was so strong that made him hit the wall and fall to the ground, blood spilling from his nose. He touched it gingerly and looked at her with wide-open eyes.

"Nami ,what…?"

This time, she couldn't fight the tears which started to fall freely from her eyes. She didn't care anymore if someone of the crew saw her. She was too hurt and sad to think about what the others might think about it.

"You're an idiot!"

That said, she flew from the room. She reached her own room within moments and shut the door behind her with a loud slam. Sanji remained on the ground, a hand on his nose, observing the point where Nami had stood a few seconds before with astonishment. He didn't know what had just happened.


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Seven

She remained in her room crying for most of the night. She couldn't stop, even if she repeated to herself that it didn't matter to her if he came with them or not. She couldn't help but cry every time she remembered his words. How could he be so stupid? Someone knocked on her door, but she didn't move. She didn't want to see anybody; maybe if they didn't hear sounds coming from her room, they would think that she was asleep. They knocked again and this time, she heard the voice of Nico Robin calling for her.

"Nami, can I come in?"

She quickly dried her eyes and got up from the bed. When she saw her friend's face, Nami understood that she had to appear devastated. Well, she _was_ devastated inside, therefore she didn't really care what she looked like. She didn't say anything, just returned to the bed, leaving the door open behind her. Robin entered the room and watched the navigator for awhile. Finally, she spoke.

"Are you going to stay in bed without doing anything?"

Nami looked at her but didn't respond. She didn't have the strength to discuss it anymore. She turned to the wall, showing her friend her back.

"Leave me alone, please."

Robin puffed and grabbed her shoulder, making her turn. "Stop acting like that and react. You won't solve anything by crying."

Nami blushed violently and sat up with an offended look. "I'm not crying."

The archaeologist didn't even bother to listen to her excuses. "We all decided to leave right now. I've talked to Rufy and the others, after your fight with Sanji." Noticing her friend's shame, she smiled with irony. "I'm sorry, but it was impossible not to hear you. After you returned to your room, we decided that we'll leave now, and Sanji will come with us. His story doesn't convince anybody."

That last part captured Nami's attention. She immediately got up from the bed hugging herself and looked at Robin with a look of determination in her eyes. "What are you planning to do? Drag him onto the ship, kicking and screaming, and just leave?"

Robin smiled at the idea but shook her head. "We won't be able to do that without the village noticing it. They would surely try to stop us. Who knows, they might even attack us in order to make him stay here with Midori. We must make him come with us quietly."

Nami understood immediately what she was saying. In spite of what she was feeling, she found the strength to smile approvingly of her friend's plan. "You want to play him."

Robin nodded and looked at her, sure of her plan. "I think that right now you're the right person. It should be easy for you; you just have to make him follow you to the beach, away from the village where we can capture him and bring him on board. Since you're you, he won't say no to you. Plus, you can use the excuse of wanting to apologize."

The navigator thought that she would have never done anything like that in reality, but it was for Sanji's sake, and it was a lie after all. She nodded and got up from the bed, picking up her clothes. "All right, I'll do it."

Robin nodded and gave her an idea of where they would meet. Nami took note of everything while packing, and after having dressed and washed her face to rinse away the dried tears, she went to Sanji's room. In the meantime, Robin returned in her room to finish preparing her things. They were all ready to sneak out as soon as Nami and Sanji had left the building.

Once Nami got in front of Sanji's door, she took a depth breath and knocked three times. For an instant she thought that he wouldn't answer, but after a few seconds she heard some noise inside the room and Sanji opened the door. When he saw her in front of him, he remained still, amazed. Nami didn't let him speak and closed her eyes, trying to sound and look convincing enough.

"I'm sorry for what happened before. I've acted like a bitch, and I wanted to apologize. I don't want you to remember me as a bitch."

The cook smiled kindly, relieved by her words. At first, he had thought that she was there for another match. "There's no problem, Nami, so don't worry about it. I know that it must have been a bit unexpected for all of you. I'm glad that we have solved this thing. Good night." He went to grab the door and close it, but Nami put a hand on the door and kept it open. He looked at her, a little taken aback.

"I'd like you to come with me. You know, we could have a nice chat before I leave. You can explain all this in a better way."

She smiled so fakely that she wondered how he didn't understand that she was lying. He simply nodded, smiling. She couldn't believe it—he had bought it! In her mind, she thought with sadness that he was too naïve. She almost felt sorry for him; he was always ready to believe her. He went inside the room, leaving the door a little open.

From inside, she heard him say, "Give me just two minutes, and I'm ready."

Nami remained in the corridor waiting. Okay that part of the plan had been a success. Now she just needed to keep a conversation going all the way to the beach. An unpleasant thought crossed her mind—she would probably have to make him talk about Midori. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself. It was going to be torture, she was sure of it. It was for Sanji's sake, but that was the one thing that she would have avoided gladly. She wasn't sure if she had the strength to tolerate his babbling about his lovely Midori. When he opened the door and stepped into the corridor, she forced herself to smile.

"I'm ready. Where do you want to go?"

"I was thinking of going to the beach if it's okay with you."

The trip to the beach seemed endless to Nami. Sanji spoke the whole time about Midori, saying how good she was at everything she did: when she cooked, when she cleaned, when she thought. Nami was sure that if he continued another five minutes, she would have puked. She hadn't spoken at all during their walk, letting him speak. He didn't seem sorry about that, though, as it seemed Midori was a subject that inspired him. The list of the things that only she was capable of doing seemed endless. They finally caught sight of the beach and from that distance, Nami saw the Thousand Sunny. Finally they'd arrived. At least this torture would end soon. When she saw Robin step out from the trees with the others, she couldn't help but smile. Finally this goddamned story would be over. She just wanted to get on the ship and put as much distance as possible between them and that damned island. Sanji noticed the group arrive and looked at her, a little surprised.

"What are they doing here?"

Nami grabbed his arm and made him look her in the eyes. She tried to convey all her apologies in her stare, even though she wasn't sure if she was sorry at all. "I'm sorry, but it was the only way, Sanji."

Rufy drew near the cook and grabbed his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Sanji."

"What…?"

Rufy tightened his hold on Sanji's shoulder, stopping him, while Franky ran behind him and tried to hit him on the head in order to stun him. Sanji, however, escaped Rufy's hold at the last second and put some space between himself and the others.

"What the hell? What's wrong with you?"

Some hands suddenly appeared out of the ground, grabbing his legs, while Rufy brought back an arm, ready to strike the cook. A sudden click was heard on the night air, coming from behind Nami. She didn't even have a chance to turn around before she heard Maya's voice from behind her.

"Freeze or I'll shoot her!"

The crew turned to the woman. She was aiming a gun directly at Nami's head. She was not alone; Abi and Midori were there, along with all the women from the village, and they were all armed.

"Let him go, now."

Robin didn't move. She stood still, glaring at the woman with an icy look. Maya grabbed Nami's arm and put the gun to her temple. Behind her, other women aimed their guns at Nami's back.

"Sanji told us everything about your abilities. I know very well that you all are capable of beating all of us, but I want you to notice that five women are aiming at your comrade from a short distance. For example, even if Miss Nico Robin tried to use her power to divert the trajectory of the guns, the probability that a bullet won't hit your navigator is very slim. The same would happen if any one of you tried to do something. Now, as I said before, let him go."

Nami saw Rufy lower his arms while Robin made the arms that held Sanji disappear. As the cook was freed, Midori called for him. "Come here, Sanji dear."

The cook didn't say a word; he just nodded and without a glance back at them, he went to stand beside her. Nami tried to free herself, but Maya's hold was too strong for her. The navigator was furious.

Apart from the fact that she was pointing a gun to her head, it seemed like Sanji was hypnotized. He wasn't acting like himself at all. Maya pushed her a little and stared at the crew while saying, "After we welcomed you in our village and helped you in all possible ways, you tried to do that to us? I'm very disappointed."

Nami was incredulous. Was she trying to make them look like the bad guys? Who would have bought that crap? Rufy was beside himself. The navigator could tell that he was trying very hard not to lose his self-control. She tried to free herself again while speaking. "What are you talking about? You are the ones who have deceived us! What have you done to Sanji?"

Midori took the cook's hand and smiled as if nothing weird was happening. She was the one who answered Nami's question. "We haven't done anything. Sanji and I are in love, and he wants to remain on the island with me and Abi, that's all. When I heard you organize your plan to bring him away from me, I called Maya, who mobilized the village. I won't let you kidnap my future husband."

Maya tightened her hold on Nami even more and said, "You heard Midori—we won't let you take him away. Return to your ship and never come back, or you will pay the consequences of it."

To make them understand her point, she pushed the gun against Nami's temple a little more. They were all tense, ready to act. Zoro and Brook had their hands on the swords, Chopper was transformed, and Robin was ready to use her power to free Nami.

Rufy became more and more furious. He couldn't stand to let anyone threaten a member of his crew and above all, he couldn't stand the fact that they had somehow forced Sanji to stay with them. If there hadn't been those women aiming their guns at Nami, he would have already destroyed the island. They were at an impasse—on one hand, they could not move because Nami would have been shot, but on the other hand, they didn't want to give up on Sanji. In the end, it was Nami who decided for everybody.

"All right, we'll leave."

The look of pure surprise on the crew's faces hurt her heart, but she tried to ignore the pain. It wasn't going to be easy to say what she needed to say, but there weren't any other options. Maya made Nami turn to her and look her in the eyes, aiming the gun at her forehead.

"Repeat it."

Nami closed her eyes and then forced herself to look at the woman with all the self-confidence that she could muster. "I said that we accept that we have to leave. We'll let Sanji stay here. If this is what he wants, we can't force him to follow us."

The head of the village looked doubtful but nodded anyway. Continuing to look in Nami's eyes, Maya spoke to Rufy. "You heard your friend! I have to say, she's more intelligent than the rest of you. Leave, now."

Nami moved to get back to the others, but Maya didn't let her go. Still holding her, Maya shook her head and smiled devilishly. "Not you, treasure. You stay with us."

"But I told you that—"

"I know what you told me, and I also know that as soon as you get on that ship, you won't leave. I know that you'll try to attack us. We'll hold you as a hostage."

Rufy stepped forward, ready to fight—to the hell the consequences! She was pushing them too much.

"You can't have Nami, too!"

The woman laughed and looked at him with a look of challenge in her eyes. "Look around, boy. We make the rules here. You may be pirates, but I'm holding one of your comrades, your navigator, hostage! If you don't want me to put a hole in her forehead, I suggest you do as I tell you. Don't worry—you'll get her back as soon as the marriage has been celebrated. In the meantime, we will hold her hostage, just to make you stay calm."

Nami thought quickly and realized that this was exactly what she needed to rescue Sanji. She needed Rufy to do as told. Being imprisoned was not a bad idea after all! She was a thief; she would surely find a way to escape and bring Sanji with her. She attracted Robin's attention and smiled at her, sure of herself, and nodded imperceptibly.

The archaeologist understood and nodded, turning to Rufy. She grabbed him and forced him to look at her. "We must do as they tell us, Captain. If we stay, we'll just make things worse."

Rufy looked at her in bewilderment, not understanding why she was saying that, but her determined look convinced him to pay attention. He just nodded, and then Robin turned to Maya.

"When will you give us Nami back?"

While Maya answered, Robin stared at Nami instead. The navigator mouthed a word three times without making a sound and then quickly looked at the beach.

It was enough for Robin to understand: in three nights on that same beach, they would meet up again.

The archaeologist quickly nodded and dragged Rufy to the Thousand Sunny, forcing him to follow her while the others looked at Nami, still worried. The navigator smiled at them reassuringly and gestured for them to go with her head. Everything would be fine. Within three days, she would be free, and Sanji would be back on the Thousand Sunny. Maya dragged her by the arm in the direction of the village.


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Eight

Nami was forced to enter a room, and a woman was put in front of the door to watch her. She was about to yell at the two women who had pushed about their rudeness when she heard the door close, and everything went black. She got up from the floor and opened her arms wide open in front of her, feeling her way like a blind person, and made it to the door. She put a hand on the wall and, following it, she inspected the room. It was small— really small. She didn't like small places; they made her uncomfortable. And on top of it all, there wasn't even a window or a light bulb to give her some light. There wasn't even a piece of furniture or anything else that she could use to break out.

Damn it, she couldn't even try to force the lock on the door like this. Besides, the woman guarding the door was the blacksmith of the village—gigantic and all muscles. She would probably beat Nami to death if she tried to escape. The navigator sat on the floor and hugged herself, thinking. She couldn't escape from the room, and she couldn't even try to trick the blacksmith. Even if Nami pretended to be sick, the woman wouldn't care and would surely leave her to herself.

Her only chance was to escape while they were bringing her to the bathroom—surely they would allow her to go there at some point. They couldn't expect her to stay in the little room during the whole week. She sighed and closed her eyes, preparing herself for the long wait, listening to every noise coming from outside, trying to understand what was happening. After some time, the noises stopped. For a second, Nami thought the blacksmith was asleep, but she didn't dare verify it by trying to escape. If she was awake, Nami would be in even more trouble. She stayed put and continued to listen to all the noises outside until finally, without wanting to, she drifted off to sleep.

She sound of the door opening woke her up. She squinted at the light coming from outside, which hurt her eyes. She turned her head and placed her hands in front of her eyes, protecting them from the harsh light. When her eyes finally got used to the brightness, she turned to the person who had entered the room. She expected the blacksmith or some other woman to take her to the bathroom but instead she found Abi standing in front of her. Her face wasn't showing any emotion, and the little girl looked at Nami as if she was an object. The navigator felt irritated and annoyed at the same time.

"What do you want?"

The child smiled malevolently and raised her shoulders a little. "I've come to take you. Come on, stand up."

Nami didn't move and looked at her defiantly. She didn't like it—clearly Abi wasn't there to accompany her to the bathroom. She quickly thought about any other reasons why they would let her out, but she came up with nothing. A whole week certainly hadn't passed. Half a day probably hadn't even passed since she had been brought there. She felt her stomach grumble hungrily, but she was sure that the little girl wasn't there to bring her to dinner. Showing impatience, the child made a sign to the blacksmith who was waiting outside the room. The enormous woman entered and grabbed Nami roughly by the arm, forcing her to get up.

"Hey! You're hurting me!"

Abi made a noise of derision and left the room. The blacksmith pushed her after Abi, but Nami resisted the subtle order and stayed put. She wasn't going to let them do what they pleased with her without a fight. When the woman put her sword to Nami's back, though, she decided to follow her order. Getting killed wasn't a good plan.

The navigator looked at the woman for an instant with eyes full of hatred. She turned to the door and raised her chin. She would do what they wanted, but she would do it while showing them that she wasn't tame. She exited the inn and followed Abi through the village streets. They didn't encounter anybody along the way, and Nami noticed that nobody was in any of the houses. She wondered where the hell they had all gone. She didn't ask anything, though, because she knew that she wouldn't get an answer. Soon enough, she realized they were directing her to the small village port. That surprised her since there was no chance that they were letting her go already. The week they had arranged with Rufy surely hadn't passed yet.

When they reached the dock, she suddenly stopped, mouth agape at the view of all the village women standing together on the dock. A sudden sense of fear overcame her. Something was happening, something she hadn't expected.

All the people on the dock seemed to be there to say goodbye to someone. Suddenly, a very horrifying thought crossed her mind, and she felt her stomach twist. Abi drove her through the crowd and made her climb aboard a ship that was anchored nearby. It was smaller than the Thousand Sunny, but it was obviously a commercial ship. A man, probably the captain, was on the deck looking at the crowd of women. Nami was instructed by Abi to stay put on the deck near the captain, beside Abi, who grabbed her arm to prevent her from escaping. She fought against a sudden chuckle that threatened to come out—as if a little girl could hold her if she tried to run! She composed herself and put her mind on the situation at hand.

"What's happening?"

The child looked at her with contempt and shook her head, giving Nami's arm a sharp tug. "Silence. You're not supposed to talk. You'll know what's going on when we decide to tell you."

Nami glared at her but smiled nonetheless. "If you don't want me to start singing all the indecent songs I know as loud as I can and disrupt this moment, you'd better tell me what's going on, child."

Abi looked at her with raised eyebrows, challenging her. Nami nodded, smiling with irony, and opened her mouth ready to start. Seeing that she was actually going to sing, Abi tugged her arm sharply, trying to stop her from starting. The little girl whispered, "All right! I'll tell you!"

Smiling at her little victory, Nami bent down a little in order to listen to what the little girl had to say.

"My sister and brother-in-law have just gotten married, and we are about to depart for the honeymoon."

Nami was speechless for a second because of her surprise. When she finally spoke, her voice was very loud. "What?"

Abi put a finger to her lips, looking frantically around to see if anyone had noticed them talking. "Shh! You're not supposed to talk, I told you!"

The navigator was beyond surprised. She couldn't wrap her mind around the concept that Sanji had gotten married already. Wait a minute, if Sanji was married now and they were about to depart, that meant that they had all been fooled. She was about to ask Abi what was going to happen to her when Maya neared them and Abi looked away from her and tried to feign innocence. The woman had a piece of rope with which she tied Nami's hands. That done, Maya stood next to Nami and pointed her gun at her ribs.

"If you try to move or talk, I'll shoot you."

Nami just nodded. Suddenly a loud noise was heard, and the crowd started to applaud, which grabbed Maya's attention. Nami gave her one last glare and thought briefly about all the things she would have liked to have done to her. She looked at the crowd and noticed that the women on the dock were parting to create some kind of corridor for an advancing couple to walk down. She instantly recognized Sanji and Midori. They were both dressed elegantly, and they walked between the crowd nodding and waving their hands as goodbyes to the women. They were smiling, and they seemed truly happy.

Maya started to talk to Nami, but she didn't listen. She was concentrating on Sanji's figure too hard to pay any attention to the head of the village. He was wearing a white suit with a grey shirt, his hair styled as usual but recently trimmed. He was… really handsome. Her eyes followed his form, his movements; she watched him smile and laugh all the while hugging the wrong woman, the one who had fooled him. Nami looked at Midori and a sense of revulsion overtook her. She was dressed in a white bridal dress. The dress was simple, white and smooth, made of silk with narrow shoulder straps and a long veil. The navigator tried to restrain herself from running to her and hitting her in the face, destroying that smile of victory she was showing everyone.

When she saw the wedding rings, she saw red. Before she knew it, she stepped in the couple's direction, and the look she shot to the couple was truly scary. She was going to start to yell at them what she thought about everything when the feel of the gun jabbing into her ribs reminded her of Maya's words. No, Nami couldn't do anything; she was forced to watch. Midori noticed her presence on the ship and smiled directly at her, sure of her victory. She knew that Nami hated her and what she had done, and she was enjoying every second of it. Nami turned her face away and refused to look at them. She had seen too much already. Continuing to watch Sanji's happy smile would have been the final blow.

She fixed her gaze on the ocean and horizon with tears in her eyes. For the first time in her entire life, Nami didn't know what to do. She couldn't escape because she had nowhere to run to, and she couldn't even look at Sanji because it would have been worse than torture. The idea that it could have been her at his side and not Midori, if she had just given him a chance, crossed her mind, but she quickly pushed it away. It wasn't the time to think about that. First of all, she wasn't in love with Sanji, even if Robin thought otherwise, and second, even if she _was_ in love with him, the fact that Midori had convinced him to get married made her think only ill of him. The more rational part of her, the part she hated, reminded her that it wasn't all that illogical for him to act like that.

They all knew that he liked to flirt with all pretty women. The fact was, for the first time, someone had reciprocated, which had made him think that marrying her was a good idea and that it was love. Besides, Nami didn't have any right to be angry—she hadn't done anything other than use him all those years, without showing him any attraction. That alone was enough to convince any man that he hadn't a chance with her.

However, the least rational part of Nami wouldn't surrender and continued to blame the cook. That part insisted he was the dumbest person on the planet to get tricked by the first beautiful woman he met.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Abi who raced to Midori's side when they came near the ship. The young woman took her sister's hand and smiled at her as if she was truly happy about the marriage. Nami realized that she was crying and quickly dried her tears, hoping that no one had seen her. She didn't need anyone's pity.

She turned to Maya and asked the question that had been on her mind from the start. "What's happening?"

"I think Abi told you already. They are departing on their honeymoon. You'll go with them."

Nami snickered with a confidence she didn't actually feel. "Rufy and the others won't let this ship pass by them. Furthermore, what do you think they'll do when you don't let me go back to them at the end of the week?"

Maya smiled at her as if she didn't care about the pirate crew. "Don't worry. This is a merchant ship, and the captain is a friend of mine. He'll bring you to an island in the near archipelago. You'll pass unnoticed; your friends won't even notice this ship, and even if they do, they won't attack it because you're 'good pirates,' right?" She laughed at that. "And when they come back at the end of the week as we agreed, they won't be able to do anything. We've already called the Navy and in less than two days, they'll be here to surround your little ship. I've also warned them that it is the Straw Hat pirate crew, so I believe they'll come en masse to capture your friends."

Nami was stunned. She would never have believed that her plan could fail so easily. She quickly thought about other possibilities, but she immediately understood that she hadn't any way out of the situation. She was trapped. Maya and Midori had it planned since the beginning; they had never intended to let her go back. They had won. However, there was one last thing she wanted to know before accepting defeat.

"What do I have to do with all of this? Why don't you bring me to the Navy when it arrives? Why are you sending me with them?"

Maya looked at her calculatingly and flashed an icy smile that sent shivers down Nami's spine. "My dear, every village has to give the married couple a wedding gift."

Nami suddenly understood what she meant by that. The shock of this revelation struck her like a fist, leaving her breathless. Maya noticed her shock and seemed pleasured by it.

"You, my dear, have just been given to the newlyweds as a slave."


	9. Chapter 9

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Nine

The trip toward the island chosen for the honeymoon lasted five days, and for Nami they were five eternal days. They tied her hands and feet to a pole in the hold. They didn't leave her untied unless she had to go to the bathroom or eat something, usually a piece of bread, twice a day. When they finally arrived, she was exhausted, hungry, and she didn't even want to know what she looked like. Since her capture, she hadn't bathed and, above all, she'd barely slept—she was too uncomfortable tied to the pole, and it was difficult to sleep in that position. Besides, the ropes that held her were too tight and every time she moved, they dug into her skin, tearing it.

However, the worst was that in those five days, she never found out what had happened to Rufy and the others. She didn't know if the Navy had succeeded in capturing them or if they had been able to escape. Even if they had, how would they navigate without her guiding them? Robin, Franky, and Brook had lived in the Grand Line, and they knew a little about navigating it, but they weren't as good as her at foreseeing weather changes.

The uncertainty of the situation she was in and the doubts that plagued her about her own future also kept her from resting. Every moment of the day, she couldn't do anything but think about her crew and if they could keep going without her and Sanji. Even if her role in the crew could be replaced somehow by Robin, Franky, or Brook, there still wasn't anybody who could satisfy Rufy's hunger. It was impossible for a normal person to cook so much delicious food all the time like Sanji did.

Eventually, on the fifth day, two sailors came to her and untied the ropes, making her stand up. She was too weak, though, and her legs were so numb after being kept in the same position for so long that it was like she couldn't control them. They had to drag her all the way up to the deck.

As soon as she get out, fresh air struck her face, and she closed her eyes briefly, savoring the moment. After so many days enclosed in the ship, she was eager to breathe fresh air again. It also helped to recover a little from the daze she was in due to the loss of sleep. Finally regaining some of her own mental strength, she quickly scanned the ship and her surroundings.

They were approaching a little island, similar to Midori and Abi's island, but a little busier from what she could see. The dock was almost full of ships, and she could see many people moving around. After several minutes, she also realized that it was a little bigger than Kosey, big enough to have two small villages. Nami turned a little to the sea and immediately understood where they were—even better, she thought she knew their position. They were probably in the middle of an archipelago; in fact, the island they were approaching was surrounded by a myriad of other islands, more or less of the same dimensions. She remembered what Maya had said to her previously.

She smiled to herself ironically—obviously they had chosen an island in the middle of a huge archipelago. What were the chances that Rufy could find them when there were so many islands? Even if he tried to check them all, sooner or later someone would call the Marina. They were pirates, and therefore the villagers of the islands would be afraid of them. Apart from that, she didn't even know if they had escaped the Navy in the first place.

She closed her eyes and prayed to whoever was up there that they were safe. She inhaled deeply and shook her head a little. She couldn't think of that right now; she needed to focus on how to escape from Midori and Abi with Sanji. She heard footsteps behind her, and she turned around to find Midori and Abi.

The elder sister looked at her with critical eyes, scrunching up her nose, and then Midori turned to one of the sailors and said, "Take her to the bathroom and make her presentable. Let her have a quick bath, too. I can't disembark with her near me like this. It won't make a good impression on the villagers. Besides, it wouldn't help our cover story. Plus, I can't stand to be anywhere near her right now—she stinks."

Nami blushed violently. She may not smell like roses—she was sure of that—but the fact that the stupid bitch had said something so horrible in front of the sailors made her furious. She bit her tongue and lowered her head, trying to calm herself. The other young woman thought that this was a sign of submission and smiled triumphantly at her, signing to the sailors to take her away.

They herded Nami to the door of the bathroom and when they arrived, one of them disappeared and left her alone with the other one. He wasn't tall, maybe a little taller than Nami. He had brown skin and watery gray eyes—eyes that Nami didn't quite like. She looked away from him, trying to ignore his bad odor and greasy hair. She fought a gesture of revulsion and made it through the door, but when she tried to close it, he put a foot between the door and the doorjamb, preventing her from closing it. She looked at his foot for a moment but when she realized that he wasn't going to move it anytime soon, she looked at him really annoyed.

"What now?"

The man smiled greasily at her and pushed the door hard, opening it fully and making her retreat a few steps. "I want to be sure that you wash yourself. As the mistress has said, I have to make sure you make yourself presentable."

Nami was horrified at what he was suggesting. She couldn't even imagine stripping down in front of the greasy and ugly man who was looking at her so obscenely. A shiver ran down her spine, and she fought the instinct to grimace. Instead of starting to scream for help and making disgusted comments about him, she smiled sensually at the revolting man and drew near him, swaying her hips and throwing back her shoulders, thrusting her breasts upward.

The man's eyes immediately settled on her chest. She drew closer until her face was just a few inches away from his. At that point, now unable to look at her breasts, he looked at her eyes with a stupid and dumb expression. Nami fought the urge to retch that assaulted her as she inhaled the stench of his rotten breath.

She looped an arm around his neck and, supporting her weight on him, she whispered in his ear, "So you want me to put on a little naughty show for you, huh?"

He nodded without speaking as if talking would have required too much work from his brain. Nami smiled to herself—it was like stealing candy from a baby.

"I'm sorry, cutie, but my…_parcel_ is too expensive for you."

As she said that, she kneed him in his nether region. He immediately dropped to his knees on the floor, cradling his damaged parts. He looked at her with tears in his eyes and spoke two words that finally reminded her, after all that time, who she really was, "Ugly bitch."

Nami smiled kindly. She put a finger to his forehead and pushed lightly, making him fall backwards out the bathroom door, still holding his injured spot. She finally closed the door behind her and turned the key, locking it. She looked around and understood immediately that there was no chance of escaping from there, since there weren't any windows. She stripped down quickly and climbed into the bath tub, turning on the water. She couldn't run, but at least she could have a bath, and that was definitely something positive.

The water was icy, the tub uncomfortable, and the soap was one of those cheap brands that don't have a scent, but, according to Nami, it was one of the best baths of her entire life. After a week without washing, it was heaven for her.

She dried her hair, untangling every single knot and combing it perfectly smooth. She took her clothes and, after a quick inspection, she understood that: one, she didn't have time to wash and then dry all her clothes and two, she would make Midori pay dearly for making her wear the same things for seven days without having a change of clothes for their arrival. They were dirty, worn out, and smelled really bad. She finally decided to wash the dirtiest spots on her clothes and quickly dressed up, trying to ignore their bad odor.

When she exited the bathroom, the revolting sailor had disappeared, but in his place was Midori with crossed arms and a foot that beat rhythmically on the deck. Nami could clearly tell that she was pissed off. Who knew why, but it still gave Nami a huge sense of satisfaction; at least she had succeeded in breaking Midori's façade of being the perfect, nice woman with impeccable manners. The navigator looked at her with the most innocent look that she could muster.

"Is there a problem?"

The woman gave her a deadly look and drew near her, trying to be threatening. "Have you realized that we have waited for you for an _hour_? We've been docked for almost half an hour, and we had to delay our plans because of you!"

Nami looked at her as if she didn't understand what the problem was. "Well, you told me to make myself presentable, and I've done it. If you're not pleased with the amount of time I spent doing as you asked, you should have told me to hurry up. Next time you give an order, try to be more precise."

The young woman certainly didn't expect an answer like that from her prisoner. Taken aback by the sarcastic tone, Midori took a step back, not knowing what to say. Excited by the momentary victory, Nami decided to go on, consequences be damned.

"Maybe you're worried by the fact that after seeing me, Sanji will return to his senses and kick your asses off this ship? You know, I can't blame you for worrying about that—I'm really hot."

Midori's momentary dismay had evidently disappeared, because as soon as Nami ended her sentence, she moved to slap her cheek, her face reddened by outrage. The navigator grabbed her raised hand, immediately stopping her attack. She smiled sarcastically at her.

"Well, if you're reacting this way, I have to say that I must have really made a point."

Midori tried to cover the fact that she was intimidated by Nami's sudden change of behavior, since she had been so submissive before. She hadn't expected this sudden show of force.

"Nonsense. Sanji won't even look at you. If I ordered him to, he would kill you without a single complaint."

"Speaking of complaints, Midori, why don't you explain to me what you have done to him? Certainly someone like you knows some tricks to catch a husband. Why hypnotize a man into marrying you? You surely know how to flirt, right?"

"We haven't hypnotized him; it's a potion—a classic love potion. Of course, it has to be strengthened in order to make him do everything I ask."

"So, if I have it correctly, you took away his free will. Hmm… interesting. You really need a potion to convince a man to marry you? You're really a disappointment for the female world, I must say."

Midori blushed deeply in embarrassment and tried to free herself. Nami, however, was stronger and held on. She wasn't finished yet.

"What I really don't understand, though, is why you've chosen Sanji and why you are doing all this. Why aren't there men in your village?"

"You're full of questions, aren't you?"

"Even if I have to kick you to get you to talk, I'd like to know why."

The woman stayed silent for several seconds, observing Nami. She was surely thinking about whether or not to tell her the truth. In the end, Midori decided to answer the question.

"We are the brides of the sea; our people have always been composed of only women. Men aren't allowed to live with us. They are impure, violent, and full of instincts that don't bring anything but destruction. That's why when a woman of our village is old enough for marriage, her sister or her closest relative chooses her future husband. The potion is used to convince the man to marry her. The purpose of all this is to make the woman have a child with the man and conceive a new member of the community."

Nami remained shocked for a few seconds, just looking at her, trying to decide if she was lying or not.

"You're telling me that you use men only for reproduction?"

Midori snorted at her. "Exactly. What else should we use them for?"

Nami opened her mouth but quickly closed it. She wasn't going to tell her that men were useful not only for making children, but she didn't want the bitch to get any more strange ideas. Instead she said, "So, if I have this correct, you drug a man and convince him to marry you only to have a child, and then you leave him?"

Midori looked at her, clearly annoyed by all her questions. Nami gripped her wrist even tighter, forcing a wince of pain out of her.

"Tell me everything, or I'll break your arm."

Midori was about to argue but a tighter squeeze from the navigator convinced her to talk.

"As soon as the child is born, we have to return to the village where the child is consecrated to the God of the Sea, and she becomes one of his brides."

Nami snorted and looked at her with annoyance. "All this just to have a little baby married to some sort of god? Let me tell you something, you're all whores."

Midori ignored the offense and smiled at her malevolently. "Oh, Nami, you don't understand yet. We don't leave the men. When the child is born, the couple returns to Kosey and during the ritual of consecration, to keep the child from preserving a bond with the masculine world, the father is killed."

For a second, Nami thought she heard wrong. She _hoped_ that she had heard it wrong, badly. It couldn't be true—How could Midori say something like that and smile? She was talking about using a man and then killing him! Without further reflection, Nami pushed the other woman, making her fall to the ground.

Midori found herself on the ground with Nami above her with a murderous glare, arm pulled back, ready to punch her. The navigator was experiencing pure hatred right then, and the panicked look in Midori's eyes made her taste victory. Nami grabbed the young woman's neck and leaned in close until their faces were only two inches apart. Looking her in the eyes, she whispered, "You'll have to kill me first if you think that I'll let you kill him!"

She was about to give Midori a well-deserved punch to the face when an acute pain suddenly spread from the center of her nape to every part of her body. The pain was so strong that it left her without breath and incapable of moving. She fell to the ground next to Midori and before total obscurity took her, she saw Sanji, an iron bar in hand, observing her impassively, his face deprived of every emotion.

So?What do you think of it? Please review.


	10. Chapter 10

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Ten

When Nami woke up, she realized without opening her eyes that they weren't on the ship anymore. The floor was steady, and she couldn't hear the sea. She opened her eyes and found herself in a room, alone, lying on the floor. Looking around, she quickly understood that she was in a room in an inn. The Spartan furniture was like all furniture she had ever seen in an inn—cheap and ugly.

She sat up, and that simple action made her head hurt. She brought a hand to her forehead and suddenly remembered what had happened—Sanji had struck her head with an iron pipe. That simple truth made her heart hurt and tears come to her eyes, threatening to spill over.

She tried to control herself and fought back the tears, trying to ignore the huge sense of betrayal that was spreading inside of her. She snorted when she noticed the window and the fact that they hadn't even bothered tying her up. She got up in a hurry, ignoring the sense of dizziness that struck her as soon as she had risen, and leaned out the window. It opened onto a busy road, but the problem was that she was on the third floor; it was too high for her to jump without resulting in some serious injuries. Furthermore, there wasn't anything she could use to climb down.

She turned and went to the door, trying to open it. Obviously it was locked from the outside. Without using any of her time to despair, she quickly thought about her options. She was used to situations like that one. She reached for her bra and, with a fluid gesture, removed the piece of metal inside it. It was a trick she had learned to appreciate over the years.

She bent over in front of the lock, ready to force it, but heard footsteps outside the room. She quickly got up and put the piece of metal back inside her bra. When the door opened, Midori and the others found the navigator sitting on the bed looking out the window. She turned to them as if nothing had happened. She didn't even show a trace of uncertainty as she looked at them challengingly.

"You've returned… _finally_."

Midori ignored her comment and signaled to Sanji. The cook moved quickly and had Nami immobilized on the bed within a few seconds. Midori drew near them, looking through her purse in search of something.

"Since you haven't been cooperative…" She pulled something out from her purse and bent toward her, putting it around Nami's neck."I've decided to use more effective methods." Midori gestured to Sanji to release her, and Nami sat up immediately on the bed, looking at the woman with hate.

Without looking away from Midoari's glacial stare, the navigator brought her hand to her neck and inspected the thing that hung there. Her fingers felt a cold metallic thread that circled her neck. It was so narrow that she was barely able to stuff two fingers between it and her neck. It had a decorative pendant, which was square and smooth to the touch, with a small swelling under it. Nami was curious; she wanted to go to the mirror and see what was around her neck, but she didn't want to give that satisfaction to Midori. She stayed on the bed, feigning little interest in the necklace. Nami looked at her, a little annoyed.

"What? You bought me a necklace to calm me down? Do you really think that this is going to make me forget everything? Sweetie, first of all, I accept only gold and diamonds as gifts, I'm not big on iron, and second, I hate you too much to forgive you."

Midori smiled at her, unimpressed by her speech, and took a small device with a small button on top of it from her purse.

"I am sure that you'll appreciate _this_ gift. You see, I don't want you to disrespect me like you've done before. A maid that attacks her owner is not acceptable; therefore I have decided that I will train you as trainers do with dogs."

Her stare was icy and deprived of any emotion when she pushed the button, looking at Nami without pity. Nami felt a painful electric charge spread from the exact point at which the necklace touched her skin. The pain and the electric charge was so strong that she let out a cry of surprise mixed with pain, starting to writhe on the bed. She fell to the ground and kept on writhing until Midori decided that the first demonstration was finished. She drew near the navigator, who was still lying on the floor breathing heavily with tears in her eyes.

"This is what awaits you if you make the slightest mistake, do you understand?"

She pushed the button again, and Nami was again overcome by waves of pain. However, this time, the pain faded away almost immediately, leaving the woman laying on the floor. Satisfied with her demonstration of power over Nami, Midori turned to Sanji.

"My love, since we do not have a lot of money, I believe you better find a job as a cook in some restaurant or in this inn. Either should be good enough."

Sanji nodded and smiled, enthusiastic over the idea. Midori hadn't been able to remove his passion for cooking yet. "Of course, my treasure, anything you want! Tell me, where do you want me to work? I will surely become the master chef of any restaurant on this island!"

Midori immediately darkened and took him by the arm, looking at him seriously. "No! I don't want us to attract any attention. If word of an excellent cook spread throughout the islands, your old crew could hear of it. No, we all must maintain a low profile. Cook well, but don't show off. You have to maintain your work, and that's it."

His smile faded instantly, disheartened. The woman that he had married—who he loved!—had just ordered him to lie about his true abilities in the kitchen. Nami hoped that he rebelled after that imposition, but after a few moments, he returned to smiling and nodded.

"Certainly, love, as you wish."

When Midori spoke again, she was addressing everyone in the room.

"We must maintain a low profile while we're here. I don't want the people to notice us too much. So, from now on, we are a couple who have just gotten married. We have decided to move away from our island because Sanji couldn't find a job, and we've come here because they told us that there is plenty of work. The Straw Hat crew is searching for two sisters, one man, and a hostage, so Abi and I won't leave our house too much; we'll stay inside and try not to be seen. Nami will be our cousin who has come to stay with us for the time being to help with the house chores, 'cause I'm sick, and that's why I can't go out. Abi is going to be Nami's sister and will stay with me all day, helping me with my disease. Is that clear?"

Abi looked at her sister without understanding. "Why do I have to stay in the house all the time?"

Midori looked at her, annoyed by her question. "Because we can't be seen too much. The pirates will probably try to find us and if they land here, they'll start asking about us. So, if the villagers see a man who works as a cook and a woman who only goes to the market, they won't think it's us that the pirates are asking about." She turned to Nami. "Plus, you won't talk to anyone about us. You'll tell this cover story, but only if you are asked and can't change the subject. Do you understand?"

She was showing Nami the device while talking, making her understand what would be done to her if she disobeyed. Nami nodded in silence, and that's all that Midori wanted.

"From now on, Sanji is Shin, Abi is Aki, I'm Kara, and Nami is Natsumi. Got it?" They all nodded and then, satisfied, Midori turned to Sanji. "Go and find a job, and please, maintain a low profile."

Sanji nodded and went out of the room without saying a word. Midori stayed standing in the middle of the room, thinking. After a few minutes, she decided to go out and grabbed her coat while giving orders to Abi.

"I'll go check the house with the captain. I don't trust that man; I want to inspect it before paying him. You stay here and wait for me. When I return, if everything is all right, we'll immediately leave. It won't take me long, an hour at the most."

Abi sat on the bed."All right, I'll stay here and watch her."

The woman left and they were alone. Abi started toying with the hem of her dress almost immediately. When Nami started to rise from the floor she was still on, the child finally spoke.

"You must do everything that we tell you."

The navigator looked at her disdainfully. "Come again?"

"You must do what we say, always, if you don't want the collar to activate. My sister won't have any problem punishing you with that device. As soon as you make a mistake, she'll punish you, sometimes even if you haven't done anything at all."

Nami looked at her closely. The child didn't have her usual disdainful look. Instead, she was almost… sad.

"Well, from a bitch like her, I expect that and even more. It's from _you_ that I don't expect behavior like this. How can you act like you don't care after we saved your life?"

Abi hugged herself and refused to meet Nami's inquisitive look. "They're the village's rules. The sister of the woman of marriageable age has to—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know the story. I don't care about it. I want to know how you can look at yourself in the mirror after what you have done to us. We saved you from certain death, we brought you home, we treated you like one of us. Sanji liked you, really, and now you're condemning him to death? Now that's gratitude!" Nami shouted sarcastically.

The child continued to avoid her eyes, but this time answered her more straightforwardly. "You can't understand; this is our religion. Dying during the ritual of consecration is a great honor. He will be proud of it."

"No, he'll be proud only because you'll tell him to be proud, just like you told him to think that he loves Midori and that he wanted to marry her."

That's when Abi confronted her. She jumped off the bed and started to scream at her. "Stop it! You don't know anything about our culture. This is what we've done for centuries! That's how it works—the youngest have to follow the orders of the eldest without protesting. That's the end of the story."

Nami looked at her without saying anything for a few minutes, just watching her. "So that's it. They gave you an order, and you must follow it, right?"

She avoided Nami's gaze and looked out the window. "Yes, that's how it works."

Nami smiled bitterly and crossed her arms. "In the end, it seems like I'm not the only slave here."

At that, Abi turned to her with watery eyes and sniffed a little. "We're all slaves of someone else. You're our slave, and I'm the slave of my community."

"And also your sister's slave."

Abi shook her head and looked at her. "It doesn't matter; what matters is that in less than a year, I'll have a niece and Sanji will be dead. End of story."

Nami looked at her. She couldn't believe that the child was really fine with everything. "So, all that friendship you showed me and Sanji was all fake?"

Abi smiled sarcastically and sadly at the same time. "Whether that's true or not, I chose him to be my sister's husband, end of story."

That was meant to let Nami understand that she didn't want to talk anymore. Nami remained sitting on the bed in front of Abi, looking at her little form. She didn't know what to think about her; she certainly wasn't like her sister, but she wasn't going to be convinced easily to help her either. Abi was clearly sorry about Sanji's fate, but her sorrow was not strong enough to make her rebel against everything she had been taught. She let her gaze wander, and it fixed on the door. After some time, Abi's voice was heard again.

"You can't escape from her. Even if you try to run away, Midori will just push the button for more than half a minute, and you will be electrocuted to death."

Nami didn't even bother looking at her. "What a lovely image."

"You shouldn't have made her mad. She was seriously thinking about selling you to the captain of the ship."

A shiver ran down Nami's back. She didn't want to think about what the sailors would have done to her if Midori had sold her. "She won't be able to hurt me if I run far enough."

"That device has a very far reach, believe me. It has been modified on purpose for covering ample distances. From what the captain told my sister, she could kill you even if you're on the other side of the island."

That was it, she was really trapped now. The chances that she had enough time to run away far enough without them discovering her escape were minimal. Nami seated herself heavily on the bed and looked at Abi. She wasn't happy about what she was doing, but she would certainly finish her duty. That's when Nami realized that she couldn't make the child become her ally. However, she could do something so that she was more well-disposed toward her. A calculating smile spread across her face as she remained silent, elaborating a plan until both Midori and Sanji had returned.

The man had found a job in a restaurant in the center of the village in which he would start the following day, and Midori, after having approved her husband's job, affirmed that they would move immediately into their new house. She had inspected it, and it was comfortable enough. She took Abi by the hand and left the room, clearly leaving the duty to Sanji and Nami to bring the baggage. It was clear that in only one trip, they wouldn't be able to take it all, so Sanji looked at her thoughtfully and, after a few seconds, gave her his first order.

"Later, you'll come back here to get the rest of the baggage."

That said, he didn't even wait for an answer; he turned and went out of the room. Nami remained motionless in the center of the room with a suitcase in each hand, fixing the door with an open mouth and a look of deep surprise and hurt in the eyes. He had just given her an order, as if she really was their slave! A sudden anger built inside of her and, for a few seconds, she saw red.

The impulse to run after the cook and beat him to a pulp was very strong. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. It was useless to go berserk right then. If she did anything wrong, she would be easily shocked by Midori. Finally, loaded with suitcases, she followed her 'master' out of the inn in silence.


	11. Chapter 11

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter eleven

They exited the village and headed to the north part of the island. While walking, Midoris started to explain the layout of the island to everybody so that they could orientate themselves. There were only two villages—one on the west side of the island called Rahan where the port was, and one on the east side called Lenn. They were separated by a forest, which also had a river running through it. Their house, according to Midori, was not too far from Rahan.

Once they reached the main road, it would take them only ten minutes to reach the house. All of a sudden, Midori took an unnoticeable path, and they followed her into a small wooded area. After a few moments, a small cottage appeared in a clearing in the middle of the trees. It was clearly old, but well-maintained, and it had only a single floor. It was completely made of wood.

Nami looked around and almost immediately understood how much of a strategic position the cottage was in; the house was distant enough from the village to give them complete privacy but not too far from it in case they needed something. Besides, the path that brought them there was well-hidden, and the house wasn't visible from the road.

Once inside, Midori ordered Sanji to light the fireplace to heat the house and started to explain who would sleep where. Sanji and Midori would sleep in the bigger bedroom while Abi and Nami would sleep in the smaller one. There was a bed for Abi and a little cot for Nami.

When Sanji had finished lighting the fire, Midori drew near Nami and started to explain her duties as the maid.

"You'll always do what we order. You'll run the errands for us, and you'll clean and cook. You'll take care of the house, do you understand?"

Nami was tempted to backhand her, but she couldn't. She still remembered the pain caused by that infernal gadget. She nodded, looking at Midori defiantly, but didn't say anything. Although she stayed silent, that seemed to irritate Midori, who took the device and quickly pushed the button on it. A wave of pain overwhelmed Nami, but it was so fast that she didn't even get to scream. Pain disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, leaving her a little stunned and breathless. Midori observed her, smiling malevolently.

"When you are questioned, it's better for you to answer 'yes, ma'am,' do you understand?"

The navigator gave her a look full of hatred but forced herself to say those words. "Yes, ma'am."

Apparently satisfied, Midori turned and began to unpack her suitcases. She talked to Nami without even facing her. "Now go retrieve the rest of our stuff."

Nami bit her tongue to keep from answering and quickly went out the door. She had to get away from her or she wouldn't be able to restrain herself, and that would have meant another punishment, which she wasn't so eager to receive.

She quickly returned to the village and entered the inn. She headed to the staircases but when she saw the captain of the ship that had brought them there with one of his sailors sitting at a table, she changed direction and hid behind the corner, directly behind their table. From that position, she could easily hear every word being spoken. They were talking about Midori.

"That bitch wanted to see the house before paying, and she also had the nerve to say that she was expecting more! As if I could trick them; those women are my best clients."

The sailor wasn't all that interested in the conversation; he looked more interested in the beer he was drinking. "What are you complaining about—she paid you, right? And you've also got a bonus for that electric collar."

The captain grinned and nodded, swallowing what remained of his pint of beer. "Yeah, she paid me a lot of Beries for that."

"Has she told you when we have to come back for them?"

"In ten months, we have to be back here so that we can bring them home. The 30th of September, if I remember correctly. If all goes smoothly, we bring them to the village and get another five thousand Beries."

Nami's eyes grew wide hearing the amount of money that those men were going to be paid. How the hell did the village women have all that money? She decided that once free, she would rob all those bitches. She continued to listen to the men's conversation, but they changed the subject and Nami was forced to hurry up to the room where the suitcases were and return quickly to the house. If she arrived late, she would risk being punished. While walking, she began to think about an escape plan. She now knew when Midori was planning to go home, so she needed a plan.

She played the good maid a whole week after their arrival. She started to behave as the perfect maid under the merciless overseeing of Midori. Sanji was always at the restaurant, working all day and since there was nobody to entertain them, Midori was always ready to find something to complain about in everything Nami did. Besides that, the navigator was forced to sleep in the same room as Abi, and even if the girl was deep asleep, Nami couldn't risk sneaking out. What if the child woke up and found her bed empty? They would surely use the device.

After the third day, her work load decreased. Since she had never been a good cook and often burned what she was cooking, Midori decided that she couldn't keep on eating the bad tasting food that Nami gave to them. The navigator didn't even bother getting upset over that—sk it was true, after all. What was most important, though, was that Nami would have to do less housework, which would allow her to elaborate on her plan.

During the first weeks, Midori often sent Nami to buy the ingredients for what she wanted to cook, but she was always accompanied by Abi, whose job was to control her while they were at the market. For the first few times, they always went to Rahan's market, but after awhile, they started to go to Lenn's market, too. Soon enough, Nami understood that Abi wasn't like her sister; she wasn't mean to her and didn't criticize her, she just stayed out of it, watching her sister be a bitch. Abi was also the only one who was happy to get out of the house and go to the village, even if it was with Nami. She was only ten years old after all; it was normal that she wanted to go playing in the village instead of staying all day in the house like her sister.

After some time, the little girl started to make new friends in the villages. She became especially fond of the children in Lenn, which was why they started to go to that market more often. Midori obviously didn't know anything about this. All of the village women had to maintain a low profile and the fact that Abi played on the village streets chasing other children would have made her mad. Of course Nami used this fact to her favor, earning some trust from the kid.

After a few days, a kind of routine was established between the two. When they reached the village, Abi played with her friends while Nami ran all the errands that Midori had given her. At the end of the morning, they met back up at the village entrance. From there, they would return to the cottage.

Midori was never interested in what they did, and even when she asked about it, Abi lied, protecting their secret. It was in her and Nami's best interests to not let Midori know the truth, because the girl would have been forced to stay home all the time and Nami would have been surely punished for letting her play with other children.

Although she was free to do almost anything she wanted during her errands, Nami didn't use this freedom to her advantage immediately. For some time, she played the good maid and behaved properly. In the meanwhile, she checked the island for a way to escape and break that goddamn collar. She had to earn a little more trust from Abi before starting her plan for real.

She continued to go to the market and started to make friends with the villagers, joking with them and letting them know Midori's story. Nami made sure that if Rufy and the others stopped by the island, she and the villagers would not be protected by Midori's stupid lies. Moreover, she was sure she would have a higher probability of succeeding if people thought she was a respectable woman; she could use their trust to get useful information.

After three weeks, Nami finally got to be on her own. The attention with which Midori controlled her every action eventually faded and in the end, Midori felt secure enough to send Nami alone to run some errands. Probably, she was starting to feel bored in the house alone almost all day. Moreover, Nami was wearing the collar, and it was virtually impossible for the navigator to escape her control. The device's range was huge, so she just couldn't run away.

One day, Midori ordered Nami to go buy some food for supper and asked to Abi to stay in the cottage with her to help with the cooking. Abi looked at Nami with longing—she wanted to go out—but didn't say anything and just nodded. The navigator shrugged and went outside, heading to Rahan Village.

She quickly ran her errands and, once finished, went to the port, looking for a ship that could bring her back to Kosey Island. Surely Rufy and the others were still there, if they hadn't been captured by the Navy. When she reached the docks, she started to ask about a ship that could bring her there, but she soon understood that there weren't ships that could take her anywhere. It was winter on that island, and during that season, ships didn't go too far from the island, not without being well-paid.

She would have to wait until spring, when the commercial ships arrived to barter with the islanders. Those were the only ships that she could hope to convince to bring her to Kosey, but since they arrived only when the village was ready to sell its famous strawberries, she would have to wait eight or nine months before the first merchant ships arrived. Besides, since they were commercial ships, she would have to promise them a huge sum of money in exchange for transportation.

Returning to the house, Nami started to build another plan. Her initial plan had been to take a ship as soon as possible, but since that was impossible for now, she needed a more elaborate plan, one that could allow her to take Sanji with her. She couldn't leave him with Midori and hope to return in time with Rufy to stop the villagers; it was up to her. That meant she needed a lot of money to pay the ship captain for safe passage for them both as well as to pay someone to take the shock collar off.

Feeling stronger after having decided what she needed to do, she opened the door without knocking and as soon as she entered, she had to face a scene that she had hoped never to see: Midori and Sanji kissing in front of her. They didn't even notice her, and Nami used this time to run to her room, closing the door behind her.

Still shocked from what she had seen, she sat on the cot, bringing her legs up to her chest and hugging herself. Without even trying to stop herself, she started to cry quietly, trying not to sob. Her plan had a hole—she hadn't thought about how she would have to wait for nine months in the same house where Sanji was living with his wife. That meant they would kiss and sleep together and… Her brain refused to go any further. She couldn't even think about it without becoming sick. How the hell could she spentdmonths like that, with Sanji treating her like nothing but a maid, never acknowledging her, looking at her with contempt as if they hadn't lived on the same ship together for years. She soon understood that this would be the truly difficult part of her whole plan.

The problem wasn't finding a way to escape—it was surviving those nine months.


	12. Chapter 12

I'm back! I'm sorry about the delay (it had been months I know) but now I'm back and I'm going to finish this stiry. Hope you still like it =). Please Review.

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Twelve

Nami was tired. Another step, and she would be dead from fatigue, that was certain. She paused to wipe the sweat from her brow, looking around.

She was alone out in the open, chopping firewood, as she reflected on what had happened since they found Abi on the boat. Every time she thought about it, and that happened often, she was surprised at how everything had changed in so little time. It had been over a month since they found Abi and had decided to take her back to her village, but her life from before seemed lost in the past, years away from her.

She positioned a block of wood on the stump and raised the ax above her head, ready to bring it down without mercy for the poor defenseless piece of wood. After three weeks of taking orders from Midori, Abi, and even Sanji, chopping wood had become her favorite chore. It was when she could release all the pent-up anger that accumulated every day. She smiled sadly, thinking that even chopping up the whole forest wouldn't be able to vent all of her anger. She shook her head and began to chop wood, lost in her thoughts again.

After three weeks spent on the island, she was beginning to get used to that kind of life. Not that she liked it, of course. She hated every minute of it with every fiber of her being, but she was getting accustomed to all those tasks that at first were so heavy. She was getting used to cleaning, washing, and keeping the house tidy. Obviously, any excuse was good to stay out of the house, although she often had to remain in the area. Right now, she was chopping firewood just behind the house. The only times that Midori let her out of her sight were when she sent her on errands in town. She scoffed when she remembered that lately the woman had begun to require her to return within a specific amount of time.

She didn't suspect anything, of course, but she was paranoid. Whenever Sanji came home, she wanted to know everything that had happened that day, what customers had said, and things like that. Nami believed that Midori was living in the constant fear of being found by Rufy and the others. She had to know that her cover story wouldn't stand up if anyone from the crew began to ask questions about them.

Thinking of Sanji, Nami put the ax down and sat with her arms around her knees. Every time she thought about him or saw him, she felt her heart sink lower and lower every day. It was humiliating to see how he behaved with Midori, all adoring and attentive. Those kinds of things were hers, once. Every time he saw his wife, his face lit up immediately, and there was nothing that could distract him from her when she was around. On the other hand, with Nami, he was always cold and distant, almost contemptuous. It seemed as though he didn't care about her.

She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling the whole weight of the situation upon her shoulders. After a few seconds, she shook herself and stood up angrily, wiping away her tears. No, she couldn't start crying like a frightened child. She had to keep going on so she could escape and return to her crew where everything would return to normal. She had to think about her plan—only about the plan.

She thought that every time she was on the verge of tears, remembering her plan helped her get through any hard situation. She had begun to cling to that in every difficult moment. That plan had become her lifeline, the thing that helped her get up every morning—the security that in the late summer, she would be able to escape. There were still many months until the arrival of merchant ships, but that didn't discourage her. While waiting, she would have to prepare herself. Soon, she would start stealing the money that she needed in order to buy a place for Sanji and her on board.

The prospect of returning to stealing was thrilling for her. It had been months since she had last robbed someone, and she missed the feeling of excitement that ran down her spine when she was about to steal something, the uncertainty of what would happen; it was almost a drug once savored. Sure, she had started stealing berries in order to buy her native island back from Arlong, but she had never hidden to herself the fact that she loved robbing. She liked to steal; she enjoyed challenging herself, deftly carrying out her own plan and being proud of herself and confident that with her skills, she could survive anything.

She was waiting for the right time to begin stealing. She would have to start with a few dollars at a time. First from one person and then from more and more people. She couldn't go out at night because of Midori's rules, so she couldn't rob houses during the night. She would have had to get all the money that she needed during the few hours that Midori allowed her to go out to run errands.

Midori didn't know that she and Abi went to Lenn's market, so she could also rob the people of Lenn during her errands. That way, when the rumors about a robber spread—because they certainly would spread—Midori wouldn't suspect her, believing that she only went to Rahan.

Nami smiled, thinking about how easily it would be to trick that stupid bitch without even saying a word. Furthermore, even if Abi found out what she was doing, the little girl couldn't say anything. If she said something to her sister, Abi would also have to confess that while Nami was doing her errands, she wasn't with her but was with her friends playing around. That would be bad for the little girl. Her sister would be mad, of course, and wouldn't ever let them out of the house again. The navigator smiled self-confidently; it was a good plan.

She returned to the house and, without anybody saying anything, she began to set the table. While carrying out her duties, Sanji came back. He opened the door and without even a glance at her, he went into the kitchen, where his wife was preparing dinner, and began to hug and kiss her.

Nami didn't look at them; if she did, she would vomit. She continued to clean the house without listening to them chatting lovingly; she had begun to grow accustomed to that, not listening to them. While she was inside the house, she had begun to develop a strategy to escape those oppressing moments, alienate herself from the present, and try not to think of what was going on around her. During this time, she clung to her plan, the only thing that was keeping her sane.

Midori finished cooking and put the pot with soup on the table. Nami retreated to the kitchen, where she ate her dinner alone while waiting for the others to finish eating so that she could clean the table and wash the dishes. She just nibbled some stale bread and left a nearly half-eaten steamed fish on the plate. As she ate, she thought about how Sanji was behaving. She sighed melancholically, memories coming to her mind, memories of when the cook only courted her and Nico Robin, most of the time making himself seem ridiculous but somehow enjoyable. He was always gallant and always attentive to their needs; he always thought about them first without be concerned about his own well-being.

She smiled, remembering the first time they met on the restaurant ship where he worked as a waiter. He had been so gallant with her, while he had been nearly uncivilized with Rufy and Usopp.

She was brought back from her memories when Midori called for her from the dining room. As she entered, she began clearing the table, ignoring the fact that Midori was looking at her with a triumphant smile on her lips. She looked at her like this so often that Nami had begun to just ignore it. When she was almost done clearing the table, the woman took Sanji's hand and looked at him with a fake and saccharine smile, saying, "Honey, I want to tell you now because I wasn't sure before…" She paused so that all the attention was on her. After glancing maliciously at Nami, she continued. "I'm pregnant; you'll soon be a father!"

It was as if a bomb had exploded inside the room. Nami felt her heart break while Abi jumped up, screaming with joy, and embraced her sister, exclaiming that she couldn't wait to become an aunt. Midori thanked her and looked at her husband, who had remained motionless in his chair. Even Nami looked at him, hoping, against all common sense, that a shock like that would have brought him back to normal. It was obviously a delusion; after a few seconds, a smile full of happiness, relief, and even pride grew on his face. Even a blind man could see he was over the moon with happiness. He sprang to his feet and, while showering himself with words of congratulation and adulation, he embraced Midori, who held him tight to her while looking at the navigator with an expression of victory.

It was in that moment that Nami realized that the whole scene was for her, not for Midori's own vanity. She could have announced it in private when she was alone with Abi and Sanji. Instead, she had purposely announced her pregnancy when Nami was present, to humiliate her even more, giving her the final blow. A variety of emotions pervaded the navigator like a river in flood—despair, humiliation, and regret for not being able to accept her feelings for the cook before all this happened. But, what was the strongest was the rage. An uncontrolled and almost murderous rage took over her, soothing and clearing all other thoughts from her mind other than the desire to kill.

Midori released herself from her husband and before anyone could do anything, Nami pulled back her arm and punched the bitch in the face, right in the nose, sending her sprawling on the ground. For a second, they all stayed still, processing what had just happened, and then Abi and Sanji ran to Midori to help her sit up. The woman looked at Nami, still stunned by the force of the punch she had received, a trickle of blood running from her nose, and she tried to mop it up with her hand while looking at Nami. As Midori saw the quiet rage that emanated from the navigator, a flash of fear crossed her face.

Nami spoke quietly, but in every word that came from her mouth, everyone could hear the pure hatred she felt toward the other woman. "You're a... no, I won't say it, 'cause I do not need to name _something_ so abhorrent and despicable as you. Yes, I said _something_ because you're not a person. You are a mean and cowardly _thing_, hiding behind potions and deceiving people. You're a _thing_ who doesn't have the strength to stand up on your own feet and face the world alone. You're a fool if you think this—" Here, Nami pointed to Midori's belly with a disgusted face. "—would help you humiliate me. You've done nothing but feed the desire I have to break every little bone in your body. "

She rushed toward the woman to hit her again but before she could take a step, a searing pain spread like a blast from her right temple right down to the smallest nerve in her body. She fell to the ground, her head spinning, and nausea assailed her. For a few seconds, the pain continued to make her moan on the ground until it became a constant throbbing. She looked up, her eyes misty. Midori was standing behind Sanji , who towered over her, a hard and cold-as-ice look on his face. He spoke slowly, but every syllable he uttered stabbed her mercilessly, causing her more pain than the kick he had given her had caused.

"Do not ever touch my wife, understand? If you only raise a finger, next time I won't be so forgiving. I don't care if we were traveling companions once, you are our slave now. You will do what we want, and if you even just try to do something wrong, I'll punish you personally. "

The navigator didn't respond. She simply closed her eyes and sank into the vortex of pain and despair that was swallowing her, happy to sink into oblivion. A second before losing consciousness, she thought that it would have been nice not to wake up ever again.


	13. Chapter 13

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Thirteen

She didn't say or do anything after that. She was silent all the time, and she responded only to direct questions ; otherwise, she remained silent, eyes downcast and shy. After the announcement, Nami hadn't shown any signs of rebellion; she had become a model slave. Of course, when she had woken up after the beating, Midori had lost no time in 'punishing' her, giving her so many shocks that it was a mystery how she managed to survive.

Nami knew that continuing to rebel and fight Midori was a lost cause from the start. The woman had Abi's support, although the girl was trying to stay out of trouble as much as possible, as well as Sanji's support, who seemed to have become the most resentful of the three. He never spoke to her, except when he barked out orders. Nami knew that what he was doing was caused by Midori's potion, but she couldn't get out of her mind the thought that the reaction he had hadn't been entirely caused by the drug. After weeks spent hating him for how he had treated her, Nami had come to the conclusion that he must have acted that way because she had threatened to hurt the child, not only because she had punched Midori. Obviously that knowledge hurt her, but part of her was ready to forgive the part of the gesture that was caused by his paternal instinct.

After recovering from the beating and Midori's punishment, Nami had changed completely. She had closed all her emotions inside, removing all the pain and confusion, forcing herself to become numb to everything. Every emotion was suppressed, although not without some internal struggle. She knew that in order to continue to follow the plan she had to become a mere machine, without emotion, that did nothing but carry out her tasks, indifferent to everything else.

Of course, outside the house, she had to keep up appearances. Every time she went to the market, she seemed serene, smiling all the time, but it was a facade. Her expression changed dramatically whenever she was alone, away from the people who lived in the villages. In the months that followed, the navigator focused solely on the plan, taking advantage of every opportunity she could catch to steal and ask around if someone knew for sure when commercial ships would arrive.

With each passing month, Midori's belly grew. At first, it was just a little swelling, but within a few weeks, it became a big round belly. With the swell of the belly, Midori became increasingly morose and anxious. She was always afraid that something was going to go wrong, that someone would discover the truth or that Rufy and the others would land on the island marching straight toward the house with the intent to kill her. Abi did nothing but spend hours trying to reassure her, telling her she was safe and that nobody knew about them and what they were doing. No one would attack, and Rufy would not ever be able to find them in an archipelago so vast. Every day, Abi kept saying these things, and every day, without fail, the woman found other concerns to voice. Pretty soon, Abi grew tired of this anxious routine and whenever she could, she followed Nami on her errands. She was always glad to put some distance between herself and the fears of her sister and forget them while playing with her friends.

Only Sanji seemed immune to all these anxieties, even when Midori expressed her fears three times a day; every time, he repeated the same thing, that he would protect her and that everything would be fine.

In addition to being anxious, the woman became the queen of grumpy bitches. Everything irritated her—a vase not put in the right place, an open book left on a chair by Abi. Everything caused her a fit of furious anger. Sometimes Nami was 'punished' for imaginary faults. However, all this didn't bother the navigator. Any emotion, even the smallest, was ignored or automatically removed from her brain, locked in an area that had been filled of all the anger, despair, and frustration that she had accumulated during those months of captivity.

During these months of solitude, the only person with whom Nami had a sort of link was a blacksmith of Lenn, Ralph, to whom she had turned to find a way to remove the collar. She had chosen that blacksmith instead of the one in Rahan because he had a reputation for being a person not inclined to socialize and who did his job if he was paid enough. Luckily for her, the rumors were true.

When she begun to tell him her story to explain why she wanted to be freed of the collar—she was a slave and wanted to escape—he hadn't wanted to know. He had just asked her two things: if she had the money to pay him and to promise him that she wasn't going to hurt anyone. After she had promised him that she wasn't going to hurt anyone and that she had the money, she asked him whether he would be able to help. He affirmed that he could break the collar without letting her be shocked to death. After some bargaining, they settled on a payment of three hundred beries. Nami left the man, telling him that she needed to be freed from the collar before the end of August.

The navigator was running a great risk trusting the man, but she couldn't do otherwise. She couldn't escape with the collar on, and she didn't have the technical capability to break it without triggering the mechanism that would give her a lethal shock if she tried to tamper with the collar. He was the only one who could help her, and from what she had seen, he was the type of person who wouldn't do something that could put his payment at risk.

Spring came and with it the news that Nami was awaiting so anxiously: in late July, commercial ships would begin to arrive. They were very late; the inhabitants had told her that they usually docked in the spring, but Nami didn't care, the important thing was their arrival. When she heard the news from a fisherman, she finally let her emotions out. Tears of joy fell from her eyes as she smiled incredulously. Finally, the long awaited moment was approaching—she would soon be free. The good news kept her in a good mood for weeks, until Midori's fears took over and the woman, yielding to them, began to avoid sending Nami to the market. Often, she couldn't go to the village for a week and a half, and it was now Sanji who bought the things they needed at home.

When Nami realized that Midori didn't want her to go to the village too often, she understood that this was bad for the plan. Without those trips to the village, she wouldn't be able to collect all the money she thought she needed. Her whole plan was based on money, with which she could buy everything, from the skills of the blacksmith Ralph all the way up to a place on a merchant ship. Not being able to do otherwise, Nami abandoned her plan to steal small amounts of money at a time.

Within a month, Nami managed to steal six hundred beries in only three trips to the villages. She stole from the pockets and purses of everyone in the market during those days. Only at the end of the month, when a rumor began to spread that there was a thief on the island who stole from anyone who went to the market did she realize that she might have overdone it a bit too much.

One evening, returning home from the village, Nami stopped just beyond a curve that hid the trail to the house from the road and walked among the bushes until she reached the trunk of a fallen tree. She crouched on the ground and, with her hands, dug around the end of the broken trunk, where she had hidden a bag, which contained all that she had managed to scrape together until then. After combining the spoils of that day with the other money, Nami put the bag in the hole and covered it quickly, covering it with leaves and twigs to hide it from view.

When she was satisfied with her work, she got up and went back to the path, heading toward the house. As she approached it, she recalculated mentally how much she had collected so far. She had around two thousand beries. She smiled, proud of herself. It wasn't much, but it was enough to at least pay the blacksmith and for places for her and Sanji onboard a ship.

As she entered house, she had a bad feeling. Midori was in a bad mood, sitting on her rocking chair, but the thing that bothered her was that Sanji was already back home, and he was sitting on a chair looking at her with an accusatory and furious gaze. When she entered, Sanji did not even greet her; he merely acknowledged her presence with a grunt and let Midori talk.

"I just heard an interesting rumor, Nami." The navigator gritted her teeth, ready to be accused of some kind of mistake while carrying out her chores. "It seems that on the island there is a thief who steals from the village people. Until some time ago, he stole some beries regularly, but it seems that now he has decided to make it big. Rumor has it that in less than a month, this phantom thief managed to steal more than five hundred beries!"

Nami gasped at the news. She didn't expect the rumors to spread so quickly. She searched frantically for something to say that would get her out of trouble. Midori didn't even notice her sudden pallor and continued as if nothing had happened.

"Obviously, when Sanji heard of it, he ran straight home to tell me. He knows you—he knows that this is your doing."

That wasn't a suggestion, but a statement. They knew that she was the thief. Nami shook her head and, for the first time in months, she raised her face to look the most hated woman in the world in the eye, directly, without showing the slightest sign of fear.

"Believe what you want, but I haven't stolen anything."

Midori smiled ironically; obviously she didn't believe her. Nami didn't give up.

"You said that this thief robs people in both villages—well, it couldn't be me. How could I rob people of Lenn when I always go to Rahan for my errands? Also, if you do not believe me, why don't you ask Abi. She is almost always with me; she will tell you that we always go to Rahan and that, always keeping me under control, she has never seen me doing anything wrong."

They all turned to Abi, who had tried to remain out of the discussion. The girl blushed and lowered her head, knowing that it was blackmail from Nami. If she confessed that she didn't know what Nami did when they went together to the market, Midori would punish her. Nami was taking a risky gamble by betting on the fear that the kid felt toward her sister, but she was willing to risk everything to save her plan. Eventually, after a moment of silence, Abi nodded and raised her head, looking first at Nami and then at her sister.

"It's true; I'm always with her, and I've never seen her do anything wrong."

Nami let out a little smile of victory, which immediately disappeared. Abi gave her a furious look and then retired to her room, definitely in search of solitude in order to vent. Sanji and Midori looked uncertain; they didn't know whether or not to believe Abi. After a few minutes, Midori rose from the rocking chair and said to her husband, "Well, if Abi says that she has never seen her do anything, I believe her… but she is just a child. Nami may have cheated her in some way. I suggest we check her room for the stolen money."

Sanji nodded and, without saying anything, got up, heading for the room that Nami shared with Abi. Midori and Nami followed him. The shadow of a smile hovered on the navigator's lips. They opened the door and found Abi lying in bed hugging her knees, her eyes a little red. Midori noticed the state of her sister and immediately sat down next to her, asking her what was wrong. Abi shook her head and said she wasn't feeling very well. While Sanji was ransacking the room in search of the money they thought she had stolen, Midori took care of Abi, taking her temperature. Eventually, with an annoyed snort, Sanji raised his hands to the sky and shook his head.

"There's nothing here."

Midori looked up at him, still unconvinced. "Are you sure? Have you checked everywhere?"

"Of course I've checked, my love; do you want to check out the rest of the house? Maybe she hid it elsewhere."

The woman shook her head, looking disappointed. She was probably sorry not to have a good reason to 'punish' Nami. "No, I would have noticed any hiding around the house, since I'm always at home. If she was the thief, she would put the money where she can always have it close. It seems that there is another thief on the island, one who is as good as she is."

Nami almost burst into laughter at her stupidity. She obviously didn't understand the mind of a thief, and that was a good thing for her. The bad thing was that Sanji knew her and how she thought. In fact, he didn't seem very convinced of her innocence, but he didn't dare question the decision of his wife. For once, Nami was glad that the potion made him so gentle and meek with Midori. When they were about to leave the room, leaving Abi in bed to rest, Sanji took Nami by the arm, leveling his angry face with hers.

"Be careful—I'll keep an eye on you."

Nami shook her arm out of his grasp and, without a word, walked to the kitchen. Even if he kept her under control, he could never discover or stop her; she was far more intelligent than the cook, and she was confident in her skills. She had never lost a game, and surely wasn't going to lose _that_ game—both of their lives were at stake.


	14. Chapter 14

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Fourteen

July came and with it so did a lot more information regarding the merchant ships that traded with the island. Nami had befriended the secretary of the harbor, and being his friend, she soon succeeded in discovering all the names and dates of arrival and departure of all commercial ships. Of all those who would come by the end of August, there was only one that met the needs of Nami— the ship's name was Galli and the name of the captain was Frey. It was a trading vessel and, obviously, it wasn't as fast as the Thousand Sunny, but it was a very new model, and therefore it was probably the fastest ship that would land there. The ship would arrive around August 26, and it would depart exactly a week later.

According to the records, it would be the last commercial ship for that year. After their departure, Midori, if she wanted to follow them, would have to work hard in order to find a ship willing to do so. The thought of the imminent arrival of the ship, the security of its arrival, and knowing that the exact day was the day of her release made Nami almost euphoric. The long and painful imprisonment was ending, and there was nothing that could affect her state of happiness. That certainty was what gave her strength.

The last month and a half finally passed and with it so did all the harassment by Midori and even Sanji. As the pregnancy went further, Midori and Sanji became unbearable. Nami now almost never left the house, and this was not because of Midori's paranoia but because Sanji was certain that the navigator was plotting something. It had all started with the story of the stolen money, and from that moment on, Sanji had tried to always keep an eye on her.

He had even begun to expect that when Nami went out for her commission, she took Abi with her. This wouldn't be a problem if she hadn't put the kid in the position of lying to her sister to avoid being punished or scolded. Abi still hadn't forgiven Nami, though quite a bit of time had passed and Nami had tried to make amends in any possible way. Trying to exploit Abi's fear of being punished meant Nami had saved herself from being discovered, but she had also blown the almost friendly relationship she had built in all the months that she had allowed the girl to play with her friends. From that day on, Abi had become almost as suspicious and resentful as Sanji. In the end, the one who was least suspicious was Midori.

Fortunately for her, Abi didn't know her like Sanji did. She didn't know what Nami was capable of, and above all, she didn't even imagine that she would be able to continue stealing the money she needed under the girl's watchful eyes. It wasn't easy—Nami had to wait every time Abi was distracted for a few seconds—but it was possible. After all, she was a child, and children were easily distracted. However, in the end, it didn't take long before Nami stopped stealing. She now had all the money she thought would be needed to flee.

Less than two months before the arrival of the ship, the thefts had ceased, and soon the people stopped talking about it. Of course, Nami kept going to both villages. Despite the fact that in the beginning Abi had tried to follow the instructions given by Midori— to go only to Rahan—the girl missed her friends in Lenn and soon, not seeing anything wrong in it and thinking that it wouldn't cause any trouble, they began to go there again. Of course, Nami didn't talk to her about her choice; it was a good thing for the navigator. It gave her the chance to talk to Ralph and know if he had made any progress on the collar.

While waiting for the arrival of the ship, Nami had also begun to wonder what she should do with Sanji and Midori's baby. Of course, if Sanji returned to how he was before, he could never leave his own daughter in the hands of a woman like Midori. Every time Nami thought about it, she felt a little ache in her stomach. She knew that life on the Thousand Sunny would be different after returning on board. Sanji would have a baby, and what had happened would never be forgotten.

Sometimes she found herself hoping that this was all a hoax, but she was forced to change her mind every time she saw the swollen belly of Midori. She was now at the end of the pregnancy. When Nami ran away, there would be two or, at most, three weeks before the birth of the baby. Nami hoped that she would be able to find her crew and go back for the baby and the father in time. In some sense, she didn't feel really happy about that perspective; it was also Midori's baby, and therefore would always remind her of what had happened and what she had to suffer. But it was also Sanji's, so she couldn't expect him to get back on board and forget about his own child.

Finally, the merchant ship Galli arrived in port on the day expected. Nami heard the news that very night even though she couldn't go out. After all, it was a fairly small island and rumors spread fast. Besides, Sanji worked at the best and only restaurant in the village of Rahan, and that meant he had cooked for most of the sailors who worked on that ship. When he gave the news during dinner, Nami was in the kitchen, listening. When she heard that a new commercial ship had arrived in port, she almost let out a cry of joy. She put a hand over her mouth to avoid screaming, while a smile widened on her face and her eyes filled with tears of joy and hope. Silently, she allowed herself two dance steps, such was the energy that flowed through her body.

When she was called to clear the table, her face was as expressionless as usual. No one could have guessed that the navigator, who had lived as a slave for months and had endured endless harassment and pain, was bursting with joy on the inside. If she could have, she would have burst out laughing in front of their dismayed faces—but she couldn't, so she instead enjoyed her happiness within herself, rejoicing and exulting in her mind, while on the exterior nothing transpired.

The next day, fortune smiled upon her. Thanks to Midori, she found an excuse to go to Rahan alone. Midori had become increasingly tired and exhausted during the pregnancy so that now she could no longer take short walks outside without feeling exhausted. Because of her condition, which no one in the house could understand or fix, they had to ask a doctor from Rahan, a certain Dr. Misha who had prescribed a variety of teas to be taken daily. Fortunately for the woman, the supplies that Midori kept in the house were almost gone that day, so Nami was sent to buy other herbs. When she heard that the navigator was sent out on an errand, Abi had begun to get dressed, making Nami despair of finding a way to contact the captain of the ship, but right then Midori, who was not feeling well since that morning, had almost fainted.

Abi was obviously worried about her sister and was now almost convinced that Nami wasn't plotting anything, so she sent her to buy the herbs alone. When the child gave her the order to go without her, Nami had the impulse to give a kiss of thanks to Midori. The woman didn't know the chance that she had given her, but Nami was thankful anyway. Without even saying a word for fear of ruining that golden chance, she left the house and ran as fast as she could to the village.

First, she went to the doctor, who gave her herbs to make an infusion together with a tonic, then, without even thinking about it, she ran to the harbor and began to search for the Galli. She found it almost immediately. Now that trading was done, there weren't a lot of ships in port. The ship was big and strong and not very nice from an aesthetic point of view, but that was not what she was looking for. She needed speed, security, and, above all, discretion.

She didn't talk to any of the sailors who wandered nearby, got safely on board, and went to the captain's cabin without even asking for directions. She knew the merchant ship's layout, so she was capable of orientating herself perfectly. She quickly arrived at the door of the captain's cabin and knocked. A sharp, hoarse voice answered from within.

"Malik, if it's you, I swear I'll kill you!"

Nami frowned, taken a bit off guard, but after a shrug of the shoulders and a deep breath, she grabbed the handle and entered the room with a firm step.

"I'm sorry, I'm not Malik."

The man looked up from the papers he was studying and gaped at her for a few seconds, surprised to find a woman in front of him. While he was trying to regain some composure Nami, had plenty of time to observe him. He was short and stocky, with a long beard and shaggy, black and white, long hair that reached his shoulders, which he kept tied back in a ponytail. His eyes were brown and small, but bright and alert, a sign of intelligence. She understood immediately that he wasn't an idiot. He was dressed a little shabbily, but that was probably because he didn't care how he dressed. He had clean hands, and she could see that he had a bath at least three times a month. This was already a good sign for the navigator, who couldn't bear not taking at least two baths a week. She knew that for men, taking a bath every month was too much. Especially for Luffy.I If he had a choice, he and the bathtub would never meet again. So, the fact that this captain was clean but didn't care about dressing up made her think that maybe he was a smart man.

The captain composed himself and sat straight on the chair, showing a serene but still curious face. He looked at her with interest. "What can I do for you, young lady?"

Nami smiled and sat down in the chair opposite his desk, pulling out a bag full of coins she had taken before she ran to Rahan and put it on the table, being careful to clink it loudly. This immediately attracted the attention of the captain, who looked at her with a look of greed mixed with perplexity.

"I'd like to buy a ride for me."

The man remained silent for a few seconds, thinking about what she had just said and trying to figure out how much money the purse contained. After a few seconds, he scratched his beard, still staring at the purse. "If you want to do a boat trip, you have to look for a passenger ship, not a merchant ship. We deliver goods, not people."

"Yes, but for the right price, I think you can carry one single person. After all, if you're paid, you don't enquire about the provenience of what you have to carry, right?"

"Part of that is right, I admit, but you forget that if the Navy finds out about this, I'll have to pay a huge fine. I'm sorry, but I don't think that this conversation will go anywhere. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Nami smiled and put her hands in her lap. She wasn't ready to give up so easily; the negotiations had just begun, and she was a genius in negotiations. "Why don't we do the math, shall we? I love to count, especially when it comes to money." She smiled affably and began to speak, not bothering to wait for his reply. "A fine for violation of the law could cost anywhere from 700 to about a thousand bery, right?"

The man just nodded, not knowing what to say. Nami nodded and continued her speech.

"Well, in that purse there is enough money to repay any fine you might have to pay."

"Well, that surprises me, I'll have to admit, but I don't think that would be enough to cover everything you are asking. Miss, you forget that during the trip, I have to give you food at my expense. Not to mention the expenses that I face if I deviate from my route to take you where you want to go. It would cost me more than the fine itself."

"Well, you shouldn't worry about that; I don't want you to deviate from your route."

This response clearly surprised him. He stroked his beard thoughtfully for a few seconds. When he spoke again, it was with the assurance of one who had just solved a puzzle."You're running away, am I correct?"

Nami closed her eyes, mentally chastising herself. He was smarter than she had expected. The advantage that she had, represented by the purse on the table, had just faded. Now, it was the captain who was in the lead, and this was potentially dangerous for her and the plan. "That does not concern you. This is a negotiation; we are talking about money."

"Yes, of course, but when it comes to money, knowing the weaknesses of others helps win more."

The navigator gritted her teeth, looking for some solution. She couldn't tell him the truth; he wouldn't have believed her. After a few seconds, she came up with a solution, but discarded it—it would have meant losing almost everything she had and expose herself completely. But in the end, she realized that she had no choice. Besides, a glance at the clock confirmed that if she continued to negotiate for much longer with the captain, she would arrive too late at home and Abi and Midori would suspect something.

She took a deep breath and looked the captain straight in the eye, self-confident on the outside but shaken and scared on the inside. She was feeling all the pressure of the moment. If she couldn't conclude the negotiation within the next few minutes, she wouldn't be able to escape and save Sanji. She waited a moment longer, a terrible moment of indecision and doubt, but in the end she won out over her fears, forcing herself to speak.

"Well, if you want to win, I will give you the victory. I don't have much time, so I'll put all the cards on the table now." This attracted the attention of the captain even more. He gave her a small nod to tell her to continue. "I have 3470 bery, and I'm willing to give you 3000 bery if you take me. In addition, you will not have to worry that I'll be a problem. I am a good sailor and an expert navigator. I've already worked on ships, and I know how it works around here. You give me a ride, and I promise you that you won't regret it."

The captain was silent for a few seconds, thinking about her proposal, reflecting on everything. "And if I ask you to give me all of your money, including the last 470 bery?"

"Then we're done talking. I need those berys for something else before I can get on board."

"I am the one that has to accept you on board, so you should give them to me."

"No, there's one thing I have to do before I get on board, and if I don't do it, I might as well keep all the money. 3000 bery is all that I can give you."

Silence fell again as the captain returned to his thoughts. It was a good deal for him; he would earn 3000 bery and wouldn't have to worry about a fine from the Navy. He just would have to tell them that she was a sailor like everyone else on the ship. He studied her for a few minutes, which seemed to Nami like centuries of agony and terror. The navigator did nothing but look at the man, who was stroking his beard, and the clock that hung on the wall next to him. Every minute that passed was a minute that could give her away to Midori.

She looked back at the captain. She knew that she had given him no reason to trust her, or rather, her attitude had confirmed to him that he was going to be taking a fugitive on board. Even if she wasn't a criminal, she was someone with problems, and he couldn't know if she could be a danger to his ship. Nami's only hope was that his greed was greater than his own prudence.

After minutes that seemed eternal to the navigator, the captain finally spoke. His voice was low and firm. He had made a decision.

"Okay, I will take you on board. But, if I even feel the slightest hint that you're going to give me trouble, I'll kick you off immediately, even if we are in the middle of the ocean."


	15. Chapter 15

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Fifteen

Nami returned to the house, running as quickly as possible. While running, she kept thinking about the final details. The ship would be leaving after four days, and in those four days, she had to find a plan that would allow her to escape from the house without arousing suspicion. She didn't just have to run to the harbor—she also needed Ralph to remove the collar before she could get on board. She didn't know yet how to find Rufy and the others, but she hoped to receive news of their position soon. In the end, they were the most wanted band of pirates; surely someone would have noticed them, especially if she wasn't deciding the safest and least busy routes for the ship to take. She smiled, certain of her plan and her determination. Yes, she would make it—she would find her friends and would return later to take Sanji and the baby. On the way back, she encountered a friend of Abi's and stopped him.

"Eh, Lukas, right?"

The boy, a little older than Abi and with a head of thick black hair, nodded and approached her. Nami smiled and took from her pocket ten berys.

"If I pay you, will you do me a favor?"

The child glanced at the money with a greedy look. Surely he was already thinking about how many cakes and sweets he could buy. He was about to grab the money when he suddenly seemed to remember something; he shook his head and took a step back, suspicious. Nami shook her head and smiled at him again, trying to reassure him.

"Don't worry, you just have to tell someone a message for me."

He still seemed unconvinced. Nami decided to try to trick him into accepting the offer.

"But if you think the money isn't worth the run, it doesn't matter…"

She was about to put the money back in her pocket and turn away. If the boy didn't buy it, she wasn't as good as she once was. But it seemed that all the years spent with Rufy and Usopp had taught her well because Lukas ran around her and stood in front of her, his hand held up waiting for her to place the money there.

"Wait! What should I tell to who?"

Nami smiled, happy to see that she could still better a child. She gave him the money and whispered to him what he had to say. The child seemed a bit disappointed by the content of the message, certainly expecting something more interesting, but he didn't say anything, just nodded and walked briskly toward Lenn. Nami followed him with her eyes for awhile, as if to make sure he really went to deliver her message, but after a few seconds, she turned and ran toward the house, lost in her escape plans.

She was still a hundred yards away from the house when she saw Abi running toward her, clearly upset. The kid was flushed, her eyes gleamed as if she was about to cry, and she was breathing heavily. When she came closer and saw Nami, she suddenly stopped. For a moment, Abi looked confused, as if she didn't recognize the navigator, then shook her head and yelled at her, her voice full of panic and even a bit of anger.

"Where the hell have you been?!"

Nami didn't know how to answer that. She suddenly felt a cramp of fear in her stomach, and her throat clenched. In her mind, there was only room for a single terrified sentence—_I've been discovered_. But after the first few seconds of panic and confusion, also due to the sudden surprise of the verbal attack, the navigator realized that the kid wasn't agitated because of her. The girl was on the verge of tears; she was looking around, confused, and obviously she didn't know what to do. Nami put her hands on her shoulders, forcing Abi to look her in the eyes.

"What's going on?"

At that question, the tears began to flow. The kid grasped at her hand and with a sob she cried, "Midori's going to have a baby!"

having said this, the girl shrugged Nami's hands off her, took her by the arm, and led her into the house, where Midori was sitting on a chair, clutching her belly and breathing heavily. She was sweaty and red in the face, an expression of fear and also confusion printed on her face. Every few minutes, her face turned into a mask of pain due to contractions.

Abi left Nami in the doorway and ran to her sister's side, asking her what to do, how she was doing, and tons of other questions that even Midori didn't know how to answer. Meanwhile, Nami stood motionless in the doorway, completely shocked. She would never have expected such a thing. She had always thought, and also hoped, not to see the birth of Sanji's baby. According Midori's calculations, the child wasn't supposed to be born for another three weeks. It was too early; he couldn't be born at that moment!

Different kinds of thoughts began to run through her mind. In addition to confusion and fear about what was going on, there were other thoughts, more cold and logical, that were thinking about how she was going to run away now that the baby was being born, and how she would find Rufy before Midori got back to Kunay with Sanji. Her brain was so full of confusion, emotions, and conflicting thoughts that she didn't hear the calls of Abi and Midori until an electric shock hit her, making her scream in pain and surprise. She leaned against the doorway and looked at the two sisters. It had been Abi who had electrocuted her, the remote control in her hand, and a look of anger and fear in her eyes.

"Call Sanji, now! And also the midwife!"

After that order, she turned back to her sister, asking her again what to do. Nami remained motionless for a few seconds, still too shocked to be able to process the order. Luckily, her body seemed to have understood because she found herself running toward the village of Rahan, breathing heavily, sobs choking her and tears in her eyes.

She kept repeating to herself that this wasn't happening all the way to Rahan. It was too soon—it was a disaster for her plan! Throughout the race, Nami's mind was nothing but complete chaos. She didn't know what to think, she didn't know what to do. She only knew that she had to improvise, and she had to start right now. As she reached the edge of the village, she stopped for a moment, thinking quickly about what she should do. The orders were to find Sanji and the midwife and take them to the house, but in the meantime, she had also to find a way to warn Captain Frey that they had to depart earlier. She knew that such a request would be opposed by the captain, but she still had the rest of the money they had agreed as payment, and he certainly could speed up the process of loading the goods. Certainly he could be ready by the next day. Of course speeding up the process of loading the goods, and leaving so soon, would mean a cost for the captain and that wasn't going to play to Nami's advantage.

She ran to the restaurant, walked around it, and entered the kitchen by the back door. Sanji was cooking some fish in a pan, two men were preparing sauces and gravies to use for the service, and a boy was peeling potatoes. They all turned to her, surprised by her sudden entrance. Sanji gasped in surprise and remained still for a few seconds, but after that, he recovered almost immediately. He looked at her, irritated.

"What are you doing here?"

She answered without thinking—without thinking about how the phrase would sound to the others, without thinking about the way she was saying it. It simply came out of her mouth, and it came out like an accusation: "The baby is coming."

Silence fell in the room. Nami didn't want to watch Sanji's reaction, but a masochistic instinct urged her to look at him. His face went from confused and surprised to elated and joyful in seconds. Unable to hold back a joy that was clearly too big to keep to himself, he began to walk up and down the room, smiling and shaking hands to those who congratulated him. The boy who was peeling potatoes ran out and went to call the owner of the restaurant, who rushed into the kitchen, followed closely by his wife, to give Sanji his congratulations.

After a few more minutes passed full of laughing and congratulating, Sanji seemed to remember that his wife was giving birth, and that she certainly would need him. Without even asking permission from the owner, he apologized to everyone and ran outside. Only when he passed the door did he see that Nami was there, waiting for him. The chef stopped and turned to her, unable to treat her badly at a time like that. Probably the joy he felt due to his baby had made him well-disposed toward her.

"Call the midwife!"

He then turned and began to run, eager to get home to his wife. Nami watched him as he stopped several times to break the news to everyone he encountered. After awhile, the navigator turned, suddenly disgusted by the scene, and began to run again. She had to find the captain.

She found him in front of his ship, where he was discussing something with a supplier. Nami knew the farmer—he always gave her good prices when she had to buy some fruit. Without noticing the peasant, the navigator nodded to Frey. The man seemed to understand that it was something important from her expression because he immediately cut his conversation short with the farmer and let him talk to his lieutenant.

Ensuring that nobody followed them, and making sure that no one would notice, Nami went behind some crates stacked near a warehouse that had gone into disuse. It wasn't a perfect place to talk, but it was pretty covered from prying eyes, and Nami hadn't enough time to be too cautious. As the captain reached her, she felt a spasm of panic in her stomach. She didn't know how he would react to her request to leave early. He could refuse, after all a deposit had already been made, and it was a substantial deposit. He could decide to drop everything and keep that deposit. She shook her head and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, trying to push away the tide of doubt that was attacking her. She spoke without thinking, without trying to sugarcoat her request.

"We have to leave early."

The captain was evidently surprised by the request. He rolled his eyes, opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it, remaining in thoughtful silence for a few seconds. In the end, the only thing he could ask was, "What?"

Nami closed her eyes for a moment, quickly thinking about all the reasons that could help her convince the captain, but soon she understood that there weren't many. She had already been lucky enough to be accepted on board not even an hour before, and now she was also asking him to leave a lot earlier than he had counted on.

"I'm asking you to leave early tomorrow morning, maybe tomorrow afternoon—I'm not sure, it depends…"

"Depends on what?"

He was clearly angry. Of course he had the right to be, but Nami didn't care about his anger. She had to find a way to get on board with Sanji before it was too late to save him. Suddenly, she remembered that Midori was giving birth, and she still had to call the midwife. Quickly running out of patience, time, and arguments to convince the captain, Nami decided to play her last card, the truth.

"Listen to me—if you don't help me, a man will die soon."

The captain looked at her, a little surprised but also in disbelief. The navigator shook her head and held up a hand to stop his response to that statement.

"I know you don't know me or my companion but please, you have to believe me. If you don't take us with you, I won't be able to get out of here anymore, and once the child—Soon there will be nothing I can do to help him. If you leave me here, he will die. And if he dies, I… Please help me! Take us with you. I can trace routes; I'm an excellent navigator, and he is a fine chef, believe me! I'll do anything that you want, please!"

She was begging now. A lump formed in her throat, and she couldn't say anything more, her eyes filled with tears as she stifled a sob. All she had held inside for so many months was about to come out, at the worst time of all. She had to remain lucid; she had to use her head, not letting her emotions out. She leaned against the wall, sighing, and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. She knew that the scene would make her appear weak, and she already expected him to turn around and tell her that he wasn't going to leave sooner because of her. She closed her eyes, already tasting the bitter taste of defeat in her mouth.

She imagined being rebuffed by the captain, but all she felt was a hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her. She opened her eyes and surprisingly found herself looking the captain in the eyes. He had an unusual expression on his face, an expression that wasn't seen very often on the face of a sailor, especially a captain. It was sweet and bitter at the same time, as if he understood what she was feeling. It seemed as if he felt sympathy for her situation. His eyes were kind, and through them he was trying to show her his compassion. After a few seconds, the captain stood up, shook his broad shoulders, and closed his eyes, puffing.

With a gruff voice, obviously trying to hide what had just passed between them, he said, "I'm already regretting this but… okay, tomorrow afternoon we should be ready to leave. I should be able to load all the goods by tomorrow morning if we start loading right now, and my men… Hell, they're going to lynch me alive when I tell them that the promised vacation of a few days on this island is canceled. You'll have to make it up to each one of them, miss, and I assure you that it won't be easy; they were anticipating this break for months."

Nami didn't know what to say—a smile of pure joy and gratitude spread across her face. She clapped her hands in delight and without giving him the chance to react, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, which was covered with a prickly beard.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! Really, I don't know how to thank you. We'll be the best sailors you've ever seen. I promise I will repay all of you!"

The captain let out a short laugh and extricated himself from Nami, trying to regain some dignity. He was obviously surprised by the display of her gratitude. He was blushing to the tips of his ears, and he couldn't meet her eyes in embarrassment. He wasn't a man accustomed to that kind of demonstration of gratitude. For awhile, Nami laughed about his reaction, but after the initial euphoria, she remembered why she was there and the weight of the situation fell back on her shoulders. Midori was about to give birth, and she had to find the midwife, devise a plan to take off the collar, and bring Sanji on board, all within a few hours while trying to assist a woman who was giving birth. An easy task for her.


	16. Chapter 16

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter sixteen

After she had finished with the captain, Nami went to the midwife's house. She didn't live far from the harbor, and in a few minutes the navigator reached the house. As soon as the woman saw Nami, she knew what was happening. Without a word, the midwife took a bag full of pieces of cotton, which she probably kept always ready for any eventuality, and motioned Nami out of the way.

They walked briskly toward the house. While walking, the woman asked her a series of precise and detailed questions to which Nami struggled to respond. She didn't know how much Midori was dilated or how long the interval was between contractions—the only thing she knew was that the child was too early.

They reached the house in less than ten minutes. They were panting after half running in order to reach the house as quickly as possible. Both knew that a premature baby was bad news; he might not survive the birth, might be born malformed, or might bring complications to the mother.

As they reached the front of the house, the door opened and Abi appeared in the doorway. She was even more agitated than when Nami had left her. When she saw the midwife, Abi's eyes lit up with a gleam of hope. She immediately took a step back and motioned for them both to enter. Wasting no time, the midwife put her bag on the table and sat next to Midori, starting to ask questions. Nami, not knowing what to do, stood in a corner of the room, watching the scene.

She didn't know exactly what her feelings were at that moment—she wanted to feel anger, enjoy the view of Midori's pain every time the contractions came, but she wasn't able to do that. Right now, she was feeling only anxiety for the fate of the child and even for Midori's. She was surprised by her emotions; after all that had been done to her, she wasn't able to feel rage or aversion toward Midori. She didn't have the heart to hope that the birth gave her complications.

As she was mulling over her feelings, Sanji and the midwife helped Midori get up and lay on the table. When Midori looked up and saw the navigator standing in a corner, she grimaced and her expression hardened like marble. She turned to Sanji.

"I don't want her here."

Sanji seemed to immediately understand what she was talking about. He turned to Nami, his face a mask of irritation, and pointed to the door.

"Get out."

Nami looked at them, a little surprised, but then she nodded abruptly and headed for the door. While she was opening it, she saw a look of surprise and confusion on the midwife's face. Obviously, for someone who didn't know what was going on, it was strange that Nami had been sent away. The midwife didn't complain though; she just shook her head imperceptibly and returned to taking care of the woman in labor.

As she closed the door behind her, Nami let out a sigh. She leaned against the door and slid down to the ground, resting her forehead on her knees. She remained in that position for an indefinite amount of time; she couldn't say if it had only been a few minutes or hours. Not thinking of anything, she simply waited, listening to every little noise coming from the house. She heard the hurried footsteps, the excited words exchanged inside the house, the moaning of Midori every time the contractions came. The navigator got up several times to take a walk around the house to stretch her legs, but she always remained nearby.

Hours passed and dusk began to fall. Nami started to think that the child would never be born. It was exhausting to sit out there alone, listening to everything going on inside. She tried to think of something else, to devise schemes to take away Sanji, but her mind seemed to refuse to think in a coherent and lucid way. She couldn't avoid thinking about the present moment, about Midori's moaning.

The air began to get colder and Nami, afraid of being punished if she returned inside, curled up in a corner sheltered by low trees, ready to face a sleepless night. Despite everything, however, soon the constant moans and stillness of everything around her made her unconsciously slip into a state of drowsiness.

She was awakened late at night by the sound of the door opening. Sanji came out, a dark expression on his face, hands shaking. He looked worried and a little scared. Nami was surprised by that; she had never seen him like this, not even in front of their worst and most powerful enemies. After that initial moment of astonishment, she chastised herself—of course he was concerned; he had never seen a birth before, and to add to his worries his baby was premature. Such a thing would have scared any man, even the most brave. Even though she was worried about him and the birth, she didn't dare talk to him. He wasn't in a stable mood; she was afraid that at that time, a wrong word could lead to punishment.

After a time that seemed to last a century, moans began to be heard more often at a pace faster and faster until they became real cries of pain. Two or three times, she heard Abi run to the bathroom, probably to change the water in the basin where they dipped the rags.

The navigator spent the rest of the night sleepless, unable to relax or think about anything but the screams of pain coming from inside the house.

The sun began to rise and from the inside of the house were heard only screams and orders imposed to the laboring woman from the midwife. Midori's screams became so strong and so unbearable that Nami found herself hoping that it ended immediately, in one way or another. Those screams were so grievous that she began to think that they would drive her insane.

She soon grew tired of the screams; she couldn't stand them anymore. With a sigh, she got up and headed for the road. She didn't want to go far, just far enough to allow her to not hear the incessant screams. When she had gone a hundred yards, she stopped and sat down on the ground, her back against a tree. It was far enough not to hear anything, but she had a clear view of the house, so if someone were to call out she would see.

Without the screams pounding in her hears, she sank into her thoughts. She tried to bring order to the emotions that swirled in her mind, but without any result. She couldn't understand what she was feeling; she only knew that she was hoping with all her heart that the child would survive. This emotion surprised her a little, but after all, rationalizing it, she knew that the child had no blame. It couldn't be held responsible for anything that had happened to her.

The only one to blame about what was happening was Midori, along with Abi. She really wanted to hate them both, reveling in the rightness of her hatred toward the two sisters, but inside of her she felt that if she was given the opportunity, she would have forgiven Abi with all her heart.

Sure, she had made sure that her sister took Sanji away, making him an idiot without free will. Abi had also let her sister enslave her, but Nami knew the depth of affection between sisters. She would do anything for her sister Nojiko, and she knew that Abi was the same. Furthermore, the child had been raised in a place where she had always been led to believe that what the Kosey women did—use men to give birth to little girls and then kill them—was the right thing to do. She couldn't blame her for believing in what she had been taught.

But beyond that, Nami had observed that since they arrived on the island, Abi had begun to question her beliefs. Although at first she refused to play with boys or talk to men, she had soon begun to realize that all males weren't as bad or as mean as she had been told. The ideas that had been inculcated in her since she was a baby were refuted by facts from the life she had lived the last few months. Even her attitude toward the navigator had changed with the passing of time. Abi hadn't change much, just enough to make Nami understand that she didn't completely approve of her sister's behavior toward the navigator.

Abi didn't have the strength to oppose a sister who was like a mother to her, but at least she hadn't helped her sister make Nami's life even worse. Although Nami could somehow find reasons to forgive Abi, the navigator found herself not so inclined to forgive Sanji completely. She knew that all he had done was Midori's fault and that he was so different because of the drug, but she couldn't stop thinking about him with disappointment and even anger. She couldn't believe that he had changed so much. on the inside, she couldn't figure out if that drug had radically changed every aspect of his character or if it just had made him fall in love with Midori, leaving the rest of his character intact.

What scared her the most was thinking that the blame for everything that had happened to her wasn't on the drug. She was afraid to find out that the Sanji she had always known, so kind and attentive, who wouldn't ever hurt a woman, was in fact the one she had gotten to known in the last few months of slavery. Nami knew that love made people do stupid and even crazy things, and for that she was afraid that reciprocated love made Sanji transform into the monster she had come to know.

Several times during the hours she waited, the navigator tried to think of something else, chastising herself for those thoughts, but without result. She was angry at herself for the lack of faith she put in Sanji, but she couldn't keep herself from thinking about the doubts that had grown in her heart during those past months.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden and prolonged scream of pain, stronger than all the others she had heard before. The navigator stood up, ready to run to the house, but she fell back to the ground, her legs numb. Swearing between her teeth, she tried to get up again, trying shake off the numbness from her legs as quickly as possible. As soon as she was able to get up, she ran to the house, without thinking, only wanting to know what had happened. Within herself she was praying that the baby was all right. A few steps away from the door, Nami heard the crying of a baby, continuous and strong. The navigator closed her eyes for a moment, thanking whoever had heard her prayers. Without bothering to think about the possible punishment, she opened the door and stepped into the room.

The first thing that caught her attention was Midori, lying on the table, a pile of pillows behind her back, her face red and sweaty with tired and swollen eyes. Beside her were Abi, who was wiping her sister's forehead with a wet cloth, and Sanji, who was holding her hand. They didn't notice her entrance; they were all contemplating with smiling and dazed faces the bundle in the midwife's arms. Nami couldn't see the baby, which was wrapped in a blanket of brown cotton, but she could hear it crying, and that was more than enough to make her happy.

It was alive, the baby was alive, and from the midwife's smile, he seemed to be in good health. After a few seconds passed as the midwife cleaned the baby up, the woman turned to the mother and handed her the bundle. Midori's face was the picture of happiness, tears of happiness running down her cheeks and a beaming smile on her face. While handing the bundle to the woman, the midwife said, "Congratulations! It's a nice little boy."

Silence fell in the room immediately. The arms that Midori was stretching out to the baby fell to her sides, suddenly without strength. A look of astonishment followed by deep disappointment showed on her face. Abi's face clouded with worry as well as Sanji's.

A sudden weight formed in Nami's stomach, and her throat knotted with worry. The midwife, thinking that the mother was too tired to take the baby, turned to Sanji, handing him his son. It seemed like she hadn't notice the overall change in the atmosphere. She certainly couldn't imagine that being born male was the worst thing that could have happened to that little child.

So, what do you think? You like the story so far? Please read and review.


	17. Chapter 17

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Seventeen

They waited for the midwife to go home before letting all hell break loose. As they were certain that they weren't going to be heard, Midori ordered Sanji to pass the baby to Nami. The navigator approached him, her arms outstretched to take the baby.

She was agitated; she had never held a baby in her arms, so she didn't know how to hold him and wasn't sure she had the maternal instinct that all women assume to have. Sanji looked at the child with longing, a shadow of regret and sadness in his eyes. He clearly didn't want to separate himself from the baby, but Midori had given him an order, and he couldn't refuse to do what she ordered. He gave the child to Nami, and without looking at them anymore, turned all his attention to Midori, who was lying on the table, hands over her face to hide the tears of disappointment and anger. Obviously this was a disaster for her. Ever since she discovered she was pregnant, Midori had always stated with absolute certainty that the child would be a girl, ready to follow in her mother's footsteps. Obviously, given the certainty with which she claimed to expect a daughter, Abi and Sanji had never thought to contradict her with the idea that maybe it would be a boy. If Midori said something, to them it had to be true—-Abi was a kid and Sanji was drugged, so they didn't have a choice but to believe in whatever they were told by Midori.

Nami's focus shifted when she felt the weight of the child in her arms. He wasn't heavy; in fact he was much lighter than she had imagined. Without even thinking, she clutched the baby to her chest, rocking him involuntarily. He had stopped crying and was now sleeping peacefully, indifferent to the fact that his birth had caused so much commotion.

While Sanji and the two sisters were discussing, Nami left the table still craddling the baby in her arms. When she was far enough away from the group, she turned to a window and looked at the boy under the direct light, excited. She was left astonished by what she saw. He was a tiny carbon copy of Sanji. He had the same features, the same mouth, even the same nose. On the top of his head she could distinguish a small tuft of blond hair. The similarity with the father was so strong that she started to smile with relief. In all those months she had always tried to imagine how the child of Sanji and Midori would look, and every time she tried to picture it, she had always envisioned it identical to its mother. The wickedness of Midori was so deeply rooted that it had always seemed impossible to her that the child would be left unmarked by it. Instead, against all expectations, the child was identical to his father. The only difference between the two of them were the eyebrows—the baby's didn't end with a curl like those of his father. They were a little curved at the ends, but nothing compared to Sanji's. A wave of laughter swept through her while she tried to imagine how the little boy would be all grown up. In her mind appeared a boy in his early twenties, much like his father, who was running after pretty girls. She shook her head, amused, and took the boy's hand between her thumb and forefinger.

"Let's hope you don't also inherit his perverted side."

The baby didn't answer. He continued to sleep peacefully in her arms. The navigator continued to look at him for several minutes, estranged from the world around her. In that exact moment all that mattered was that beautiful baby she held in her arms. Somewhere, in the recess of her mind, she realized that if she continued to smile as she was doing, soon her face would be numb, but she was too excited to care.

This moment of happiness was snatched away from her when a hand grabbed her shoulder and shook it violently. Nami spun around, holding the baby close to her chest, ready to protect him. She found herself staring at a flushed, tired and irritated Midori. She was standing in front of her, supported by Sanji. The woman gestured for him to let her sit down in a chair. Nami stared at her as she sat slowly, wincing at the pain that she was probably still enduring. She had just given birth; it probably wasn't normal that she was already walking around.

Of course, Nami didn't let a single syllable slip from her mouth; if Midori wanted to hurt herself, she certainly wouldn't stop her. When Midori was seated, Sanji behind her and Abi at her side, Nami felt like a condemned man in front of a firing squad. All three were watching her—or rather, all three were watching her and the baby. The navigator didn't know what to do, so she stood still, rocking the child imperceptibly and observing the anxious faces of everyone else. Midori's face was a mask of hardness, it didn't betrayed anything but fatigue and maybe even a little barely suppressed anger. Abi tried not to look at either Nami or the child, her eyes moving constantly around the room, trying not to dwell on anything. The only one who was clearly and deeply embittered and full of sadness was Sanji.

Nami knew that what had happened was serious—she could tell by their expressions—but still she didn't know how serious. She realized the gravity of the situation only when Midori opened her mouth, ruling the fate of the child with only a few words.

"We have to get rid of it."

Those words echoed in the silent room, cruel and merciless. It was as if a hammer was thrown against Nami's chest. Her legs nearly gave up, her stomach twisted and her pulse accelerated to a frantic rhythm.

She clutched the baby to her chest even more, as if to protect him from those horrible words spoken by his own mother. Endless minutes passed before the navigator could utter a coherent sentence. In the end from her mouth came a single word, but in that word was contained all her contempt and hatred for the being that stood in front of her.

"_What_?"

Midori wasn't troubled by her tone of voice; she gave her a cold and calm stare, devoid of humanity. "You heard me."

Nami's mind was at a loss. She didn't know what to say—damn, she didn't even know what to think! Her mind seemed unable to wrap itself around the concept of a mother ready to kill her own child. She found herself wanting to scream and punch that horrible woman, to make her suffer like those words were hurting her. But above all else she wanted to get the hell away from that place, running out of the house and take the baby with her, save him.

She didn't do it; in spite of her instincts, her mind reminded her that with the collar she couldn't have gotten that far. Instead of doing what her instincts suggested, she tried to do what her logic required: try to reason. When she spoke, she tried to do it quietly, calmly. It made no sense to yell at Midori, even if she wanted to do it with all her heart.

"Listen to me—you can't do this. It's _your_ son. I understand that you wanted a daughter, but this doesn't change the fact that he is your—!"

A flash of anger shone in Midori's eyes. She straightened her back as if it she had just been slapped, her face as hard as marble. Nami noticed that Abi was fidgeting uncomfortably beside her. Without saying a word, the little girl walked away and went into Midori's bedroom, closing the door quietly. Nami assumed that she didn't have the guts to hear the discussion. She probably wasn't happy with her sister's choice, but nonetheless she wasn't going to do anything about it. All thoughts of Abi disappeared when Midori spoke.

"Don't you ever dare to say that he is my son. He isn't. We, the Kosey women, can only have daughters. Males are not tolerated. A male child is the worst misfortune, and it should be treated as such. This is our law, this is our life."

Only then did Nami realize that it had all been decided; there would be no appeals, no chance to change Midori's mind. Up to that moment the navigator had never realized how deep Midori's fanaticism ran. Any hope of saving the child by trying to reason with words vanished in front of that woman's firmness of convictions. A sense of emptiness and defeat pervaded her fully, leaving her breathless and completely numb. Nami was so absorbed by her personal pain that she almost didn't notice the sudden reappearance of Abi. The girl passed something to her sister, but before the navigator could see what it was, Midori turned to Sanji.

"Go to the river, to the spring; there should be no one to disturb you. When you're done, come back. We'll take care of the rest."

This sentence brought Nami to herself. She stared with her mouth agape first at Midori and then at Sanji, a look of shock and horror on her face.

"You want us to drown him?!"

"I can't do it, and neither can Abi. No Kosey woman should touch a male child. The father is guilty of his birth, so the father must put an end to his life. You will assist him."

"But this is crazy! You're insane, you know that? Do you realize what you're doing? You're talking about killing a baby! Sanji, please! He's your son for God's sake! What kind of—! "

A sudden jolt shot through her from head to toe, causing pain in every nerve ending in her body. It was fast, instantaneous, but powerful enough to make her fall to the ground. Luckily she still had enough control over her body to protect the baby. She fell onto her back, so that she wouldn't hurt the little boy. Obviously this woke the little one. Without even opening his eyes, he opened his mouth, making a face that would have been funny in any other situation, and began to cry with all his might. Nami, still lying on the ground, tried to calm him down, hugging and cuddling him a little.

Midori, the remote control in her hand, gritted her teeth and turned away, clearly irritated by the crying. Nami realized that the object that Abi had passed to her earlier was the remote. She glanced accusingly at the kid, but Abi refused to meet her eyes, obviously ashamed. Her sister, unable to bear the baby's crying, turned abruptly to Nami, gesturing to the infant in her arms.

"Make him stop."

Nami looked at her resentfully.

"And how do you expect me to do that? I have no milk to give him; I'm not his mother. "

She spoke that last sentence with the intent of hurting Midori, reminding her that in spite of everything, she was still the mother of the child. But, in the end, the only one who was hurt was Nami. She bit her lip trying to hold back tears and sat up, trying to calm the baby. She didn't notice the presence of Sanji beside her until she found him crouching right in front of her. He had a baby bottle in his hand, full of milk. He handed it to her without looking at her face; all his attention was on his son.

"Here, milk mixed with water; it should be fine."

Nami thanked him with her eyes. She made the boy sit in her lap, held his head, and with all the kindness she could muster she put the bottle's nipple in his mouth. He immediately stopped crying and began to suck the milk greedily, clearly hungry. Nami and Sanji remained transfixed by the scene as they watched that beautiful creature. This moment of almost happiness was interrupted by the angry voice of Midori.

"Well, now that you have silenced it, you can go. Don't waste any more time—the sooner the better."

These words caused a complete change in Sanji. His eyes filled with sadness and regret, a pained expression on his face. Nami understood what he was feeling—she was feeling the same, but he was his father, and that fact was probably making that pain all the more excruciating for him. He was torn between his paternal instinct to protect his son and the instinct created by the drug to obey Midori.

In the end, it seemed the drug was too powerful. The feelings he had shown to her in that moment disappeared behind a mask of hardness. He stood up and went to get a jacket, ready to do whatever he was told. Nami stood alone on the floor, observing Midori and Abi. The former was as unmoved and cold as she had always been up to that point, the latter was clearly uncomfortable with the situation, as uncertain as Sanji was. The older sister looked at Nami with a glacial expression, pointing the remote toward the navigator.

"You'll go with him; he will surely need an assistant."

The answer that arose spontaneously on her lips was a categorical and absolute _no_. She wouldn't take any part in the murder of an infant. But as she was about to say that word, logic kicked in again. If she stood there, it would be of no avail. Sanji would go alone, and there would be no one to stop him. Instead, if she went with him, she would have a few more chances to save the child and the father.

But she couldn't accept going without a fight; she didn't want Midori to think that she had given in too easily and suspect something. She took a deep breath, preparing herself mentally for the pain that would follow. She stood up and put the bundle with the baby inside on the chair next to her. He had stopped sucking and was about to fall asleep. She looked at the woman she hated the most in the entire world and with a look of defiance, she shook her head.

"Make me."

The pain was excruciating, a thousand times more intense than she had felt the previous times and much more prolonged. She didn't know how long Midori pressed the damn button, but it was long enough to make her almost fall unconscious. The sudden absence of pain created another shock to her body. She remained on the ground, gasping, looking at the wall, tears streaming down her cheeks. Without saying a word and drawing on the strength that gave her the will to save the child, she turned to her tormentor with a half smile and shook her head. Searing pain followed that gesture of defiance. The pain was so intense that she thought she was going to be electrocuted to death. Light years away from her world full of suffering and agony, she heard the baby crying. She didn't know if it was because he somehow felt that she was suffering or because her screams bothered him, but his crying was what allowed her to remain conscious during those moments of pure pain.

When the pain ended, her body remained motionless, still curled into a ball, ready to be tortured again. When her body understood that she wasn't going to be electrocuted again, her senses began to work. She suddenly felt the metallic taste of blood in her mouth, an annoying whistle in her ears was driving her mad and before her eyes, she could see only dancing colored lights. When her mind ordered her body to move, she remained astonished to find herself unable to get up. Her body felt strange, as if she had no body, only consciousness. However, her mind was still sharp and alert, ready to analyze any information. The baby had stopped crying, and from the hushing that she was hearing, Sanji must have taken him in his arms. Relived by this, she concentrated on Midori and Abi; the kid was talking to her sister.

"Stop it, Midori! I think she understood."

The navigator heard Midori mumble something, but it seemed Abi had convinced her because no more pain followed. After a few minutes she felt a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes with difficulty, and when the lights in front of her eyes finally began to fade, she found herself staring into Abi's face. She was worried, but the navigator saw in the back of her eyes a certain determination. The girl helped her get up and led her into the kitchen. Nami leaned against the wall while the girl poured a glass of water. When she handed it to her, the navigator took it with both hands and drank it in one gulp. It was like a flood of fresh and pure water in a desert. The liquid felt like balm in her dry throat. When she had finished drinking, she looked at Abi, who was observing her. She thought that it was a good moment to try to reason with her at least. If she was able to make her see the light, maybe she could help her convince her sister.

"Abi, you can't let her—!"

The girl put her finger to her mouth, throwing a look behind her. She motioned for Nami to shut up and get close to her. Nami leaned over, letting the girl whisper in her ear.

"Here, this is all I can do. I've taken it from Midori's drugs; it should knock him out for a few hours."

Unceremoniously she put a little bottle filled with a blue liquid and a handkerchief in her hand. Too surprised to say anything, the navigator looked at the girl with wonder. Abi shrugged and looked down.

"I don't want him to die; he is my nephew."

Having said this, she turned and went back to Midori, without looking back. Nami stood alone, looking at the bottle in her hand, a plan forming in her mind. She put the bottle and the handkerchief in her pocket, a faint smile on her lips. Hope started to rise in her heart—maybe she could make it after all.

* * *

><p>Alright, I hope you liked this chapter, now I'd like to answer some review, so that I make things clear.<p>

**Tentsubasa**: I know I didn't explained in the previuos chapters what would happen to the baby if it was a boy, the enclosure of chapter sixteen was only a little spoiler, it wasn't referred to Nami's thoughts. I wrote it just to make you all a little curios about what come next =).

In your previous review you have asked me why didn't Nami ever try to just tamper with the drug Midori is giving Sanji, well, as I've said earlier, I like to make you curios, but don't worry, everything will be explained.

**Guest**: I'm sorry I misspelled the name of the captain. You see, in Italy we have this strange habit of translating mangas, shows and everything else in a way that often distort the names of the characters. For example the name of Luffy/Rufy in Italy is Rubber. Now, don't ask me why they did this, but since I didn't know which name was the right one (in other stories I've found both Rufy and Luffy) I simply chose Rufy over Luffy. Now I see I've made the wrong decision, but since I've already wrote more than seventen chapters I think i'll just stick with Rufy, hoping you all can overlook this little mistake.

Thank you all very much for your reviews, I love to see that you're interested in my story. I hope you'll also like the next chapters that I'm writing.

Finally I'd also like to thank my beta reader L.M. Avalon, who is an amazing beta reader and always encourage me. Without her my story would be filled with grammatical mistakes. You all should be grateful I've found her =).

Please keep reading my story, and review!


	18. Chapter 18

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Eighteen

After they exited the house, they headed to the river. They walked in silence for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. Sanji was probably thinking about what was awaiting them at the spring, while Nami was madly trying to find a way to knock him down. She could still see before her eyes Abi's expression before they got out of the house. She had looked at her meaningfully, sending her a hidden pray to save the baby. It was the thought of Abi that made her realize a possible solution. They had reached the river and were walking alongside it. Nami neared Sanji and when she was walking beside him, she captured his attention by shifting the baby in her arms. When she realized that the cook wasn't going to start talking, Nami decided to take the initiative.

"Don't you want to hold him?"

He seemed upset by the sudden question. He probably didn't expect such a proposal from the navigator. Seeing him look doubtful, Nami realized she had a chance to get to him.

"I don't remember Midori forbidding you to touch him, right? And, after all, don't you want to stay with him a little while before…?"

She couldn't finish the sentence; she just didn't have the guts to say it—it made her feel sick. The prospect of a possible failure frightened her beyond belief. After a few seconds passed in silence to reflect, Sanji stopped abruptly, looking first at Nami and then at the child. He was sleeping, a serene expression on his face. At the sight of it, a corner of Sanji's mouth quirked up in a half smile. He took a deep breath, as if to prepare to dive underwater, and stretched his arms toward the baby. Nami smiled, relieved, and gently handed him the child, trying not to wake him up.

He didn't even stir as Sanji took him, rocking him a little. After a few minutes passed watching the little baby sleeping in his arms, the cook remembered what he had been instructed to do. With a sigh of pain, he clutched the baby to his chest and started to walk, trying not to stop and observe every detail of that childlike face. Nami closed her eyes, saddened, but she said nothing. For a moment she had hoped that a father's love for his child would overwhelm the effects of the drug, especially now that Midori wasn't there. Apparently, it would take more than that to defeat those damn drugs. They arrived at the only bridge that crossed over the river on the entire island. Instead of passing over it, Sanji continued to follow the river, along the embankment. The navigator, expecting this, ran after him and put a hand on his shoulder, trying to stop him.

"We can't follow the river on this side."

Sanji turned to her, his brow furrowed with curiosity. Nami quickly searched in her mind for a believable lie.

"In the evening there are children along this side of the river, playing. I don't know if they'll come here today, but just to be sure, we should cross the bridge and follow the river on the other side."

Sanji thought about it for a few seconds, watching the water flowing under the bridge.

"How do you know that the kids play on this side of the river?"

She couldn't find any lie that didn't sound too fake. Without giving it a second thought, she decided to opt for the truth, hoping that in that situation he wasn't too interested in dwelling on certain details.

"Abi told me about it. She has some friends in Rahan. From what she has told me, the children of the village came here often to play with the children of Lenn."

The cook nodded, apparently satisfied with her answer. He didn't say anything about Abi's friendships, something that Midori had always categorically forbidden. He probably didn't care at the moment.

They crossed the bridge and continued for a while on the main road, then suddenly turned right, leaving the road at their backs, following the course of the river from a distance. The only thing keeping them on track was the constant sound of flowing water. With each step, Nami felt more and more agitated. The plan had worked so far, but now came the really hard part. She had to take down Sanji, but she didn't know what to do with the child. She had passed him the baby because she needed her hands free, but now she realized that if he kept the baby while she was knocking him down, the baby would also fall. She shuddered at the thought of the little thing falling to the ground. No, she had to find a way to get him to put the baby down first.

Fate must had been helping her because the answer to her dilemma came to her. The land near the spring was particularly rich, and that meant that there were many animals digging holes in the ground, making the terrain full of hidden holes. Nami quickly developed a plan, and she briefly thought that it was perfect. She focused on the ground in order to find a hole that could serve her purpose. Finally, after five minutes she found the perfect hole—it was little and half hidden, and it was directly in her path.

Nami put her plan into action, already prepared to feel a stabbing pain as she slipped her foot into the hole on purpose. Her foot was caught, and she fell to the ground, letting out a little shriek of surprise. Luckily, knowing that she was going to fall, she landed safely, only scraping her palms. Despite her primary reflex to remove her foot from the hole, she restrained herself, giving the impression that her foot was stuck. Sanji turned around, surprised by her sudden cry, and found Nami on the ground, palms up and hunched over in pain, one leg stretched out with one foot stuck in a hole. Without saying a word, but only quietly sighing, he came back and sat down beside her, inspecting the situation. She wasn't hurt; the cuts on her palms had already stopped bleeding. The rest of her was only dusty, not hurt. Maybe she would have bruises on her knees for a while, but nothing serious. He then turned to look at the foot stuck in the hole.

"Can you get it out?"

Nami snorted and rolled her eyes, pretending to be irritated by the dumb question.

"I wouldn't be in this position if I could, would I?"

She immediately understood that it was the wrong answer to give. Sanji looked at her coldly, clearly annoyed by her tone. That glance made her shiver in apprehension. Despite everything that had happened that day, he was still the same Sanji who had treated her like a slave for months. He wasn't the kind and thoughtful cook who in such a situation only a year earlier would have begun swearing vengeance against all the moles on the island. It was the cook who had beaten her several times, who had threatened and enslaved her and had no problem treating her like an object. She looked down, avoiding his icy stare. When she spoke, it was with a subdued voice, barely audible.

"No, I can't even move it."

Her tone and reaction seemed to calm him down. Muttering to himself, he put the little bundle in his arms on the ground near Nami and turned to look at her stuck foot. She acted quickly, grabbing the bottle that Abi had given her and opening the cap with her teeth with one hand while looking for Abi's handkerchief with the other. While Sanji had his back turned toward her, she poured the liquid on the cloth, not bothering to measure it. The more the better—she didn't want him to wake up too early.

Taking a deep breath, the navigator lunged at Sanji's back. With one hand she grabbed his neck and with the other she put the handkerchief in front of his nose and mouth. She closed her eyes and clung to him with all the strength she had. Sanji let out a little shout of surprise when he felt his neck grabbed, but he didn't react quickly enough. When Nami put the handkerchief over his face, he tried to shake it off. He grabbed her hair and tried to pull her hand away with the handkerchief. He elbowed her in the side, several times, but soon he was forced to breathe the fumes of the medicine and its effects instantly began to kick in, making him more and more tired and confused until his eyes were no longer able to stay open, and he fell on his side, unconscious.

Nami found herself lying on her side with him, still holding onto Sanji. She remained still for a few more seconds, not sure if he was unconscious. After awhile, she finally moved. She let go of his neck and removed the handkerchief from his face. She crouched beside him and with her index and middle fingers, she checked his pulse. It was strong and regular. She sighed with relief and tried to stand up, but her legs gave way and she found herself sitting on the ground, breathing heavily. She watched her hands and found them shaking with adrenaline.

In those few seconds of struggle, she hadn't felt anything, but now she felt a sharp pain in her right side where he had elbowed her. She also felt her scalp burning where Sanji had grabbed and pulled her hair. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down, trying to get her breathing back to a regular pace, despite the pain in the side, which made her see stars every time she breathed in.

After a few minutes, she finally managed to stop shaking, and her legs seemed to return to normal. She stood up and looked around, quickly analyzing the situation. Until now she had improvised, but she didn't like that method— it was too dangerous and full of potential failures. Pulling back her hair from her face, her eyes were drawn to the unconscious figure of Sanji. Looking around, she began to develop a plan. She couldn't carry Sanji, not if she wanted to take also the baby with her. She had to find a way to restrain him until she was finished. She turned again, looking for something that would be handy.

Her eyes fell on Sanji's belt. Without a second thought, she began to fumble with his belt, blushing as she thought that this, seen by someone else's eyes, would look incredibly indecent. She quickly pulled the belt from his pants and stood, grabbing him under his arms and starting to drag him. She groaned in pain from the effort she was putting on her side, but she kept working, managing to drag him next to a tree. It had a thin trunk, but it was strong enough to act as a pole. She leaned Sanji against the trunk and with expert moves, she tied him to the tree with the belt.

When she was satisfied with her knot, she stood up, admiring her handy work. The cook was still unconscious, and she hoped that he remained so until they were safe and sound. She didn't have the drug Abi has given her anymore and dragging him along while he was awake could be troublesome. For now, though, he wasn't going to be a problem; she would worry about him when the time came. She turned and took the baby from the ground, holding him. He hadn't woken up during the scuffle, and for that she was grateful. She smiled at the sleeping baby and began to walk.

"Now that your daddy is out cold and all tied up, let's take this ugly collar off."

She headed to Lenn, praying that the blacksmith had held up his part of the deal. She turned back only once to check on Sanji, and then she was gone.


	19. Chapter 19

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Nineteen

They reached the smithy in less than ten minutes. Taking care not to catch anyone's eye, the navigator sneaked into the forge through the back door. The blacksmith was working, hammering on a piece of incandescent metal, probably to make a tool. He didn't notice her presence until Nami positioned herself directly in front of him, at a safe distance from the sparks that emanated every time the blacksmith pounded on the hot metal. Her sudden appearance startled him, but apart from that he didn't show any other sign of surprise. After observing her for a few moments, he returned to his work, hammering the cooling metal. Nami realized that he wasn't going to start the conversation.

"Did you get my message?"

Continuing to hammer the smith nodded imperceptibly.

"Whose baby is that? The last time I saw you, you weren't pregnant."

The navigator took a quick look at the baby in her arms. He was still asleep, but the constant sound of metal banging on metal would wake him up soon. She could already see a change in his expression; he was no longer sleeping peacefully. She turned to the blacksmith, who didn't seem to want to stop hammering.

"Can you please stop? You'll wake him."

The steady rhythm of the hammer hitting metal didn't slow down, even a little bit.

"No; first you tell me what's going on."

He hadn't looked at her since she had showed herself. Instead he was constantly and stubbornly hammering that piece of metal. However, Nami knew that he was ready to act, ready to take the baby away from her by force if he thought she was dangerous. Moving slightly away from the man, she finally spoke.

"He's not mine, but I have no intention of hurting him."

She didn't want to tell him the whole story—she didn't have the time and moreover she didn't want to relive all that had happened again, not now. She didn't want to talk about what circumstances brought the baby into the world and what future awaited him if she failed. She just said what she knew in her heart to be the truth, hoping that the blacksmith understood her feelings. At her words the man stopped hammering. He still held the hammer in his hand, but his gaze was fixed on Nami and the baby.

"How do I know you're not a psychopath who wants to steal that baby from his mother?"

Nami grimaced and clutched the baby to her chest, suddenly anxious. She couldn't tell him that technically she was doing exactly what he had just accused her of doing. She took a deep breath and looked for a way to convince the blacksmith.

"Look, I can't give you any proof of the fact that I'm not a psychopath, but you have to believe me. You know why I turned to you for help—you know what this collar can do. The person that put this damned thing on me was the same person who will hurt this child. I can't prove any of this to you, but… You're the only hope I have left… please save me, save the baby, and…"

Tears began to streak down her cheeks. She was begging now, but she didn't know what else to do. She could only hope that somehow the blacksmith would believe her. She sobbed and begged again, tears almost blinding her.

"Please, help us."

She stood there, motionless, staring at the blacksmith, tears streaming down her face and a sleeping child in her arms. The man stared at her for a time that seemed endless, observing and thinking. Eventually he turned and put the hammer on a wooden shelf, motioning for her to come closer.

"Put the baby on the upside down barrel over there; you can't hold him while I take that thing off."

At those words Nami's legs almost gave way. Relief flooded her. Finding herself suddenly trembling and almost without energy, the navigator quickly laid the baby on the barrel. Still trembling from the force of the emotions she had experienced, she turned to the man, still incredulous that she had convinced him.

"Do you believe me? Why?"

The blacksmith began to line up a row of tools on the tabletop, signaling for her to sit on a chair. He answered without looking at her.

"Let's just say that I can recognize maternal instinct when I see it."

That response left her more confused than before, but she wasn't able to ask more questions because the blacksmith grabbed her and made her sit on a chair next to the table. He grabbed her chin with one hand and forced her to raise her head, exposing her neck. He held her like this for a few seconds, inspecting the collar. After that he let her go and began to pick up some pieces of wood and what looked like ceramic.

"Now hold still—_motionless_. If any of the pieces slip away, you're dead."

Having said that, silence fell in the room. Nami sat absolutely still, her hands gripping the seat of the chair so hard that she drove her nails into the wood. A feeling of nausea, terror and apprehension pervaded her mind and body, while confused thoughts began to fill her mind. One in particular continued to plague her: what would happen to the child if the procedure failed? She had to find a way to secure the future of the child. With a lump in her throat and eyes fixed on the ceiling, Nami forced herself to speak.

"If anything happens to me…"

"Shut up. If you move, you'll ruin everything."

Nami's grip on the seat tightened even more. She swallowed hard and opened her mouth again. Suddenly the blacksmith put his hand over her mouth, standing, so that he could look into her eyes.

"If something happens, no one will find the child, I promise."

Those words caused a sudden relaxation in the body of the navigator. Knowing that despite everything the child would be safe made her feel much more relieved. No matter what happened, the important thing was that Midori would not find him. Despite the fact that the promise had been made by someone she didn't know, Nami felt more secure and confident. Noticing that her mood had slightly changed, the blacksmith bent down again, ordering her to stay still once more. Nami closed her eyes, letting the man do his job. After a few seconds passed while he inspected the collar, the man lifted the metallic thread that circled her neck and began to slip the small pieces of wood and ceramic between the thread and her skin.

"This should work as an insulator."

Nami suddenly opened her eyes, a knot in her stomach.

"It _'should_'?!"

The blacksmith snorted, clearly irritated by the question and the petulant tone of her voice.

"I don't know the intensity of the electrical charge that will be released when I force open the collar, and the thickness of the pieces of wood and ceramic that I am putting between you and the metal wire is not very big. Pray that it's enough."

Nami closed her eyes again, trying to banish from her mind images of her dead body laying on the chair, electrocuted to death. The blacksmith continued to work around the collar for several more minutes, using pieces of wood and ceramic, careful not to let even a millimeter of the wire touch her skin. When the work was finished he stood up, inspecting the work done so far. Continuing to keep her head up, facing the ceiling, Nami raised a hand to inspect the collar, but the man grabbed her hand, preventing her from touching it.

"Don't touch and don't move. Now comes the hard part."

Setting her hand to rest on her lap, the blacksmith went off for a few seconds to get two pairs of pliers. At a quick glance they might have appeared normal, but from what Nami could see from her position they were made of ceramic instead of metal, and the handle was made of wood.

"It's essential that during the process you stay still. With these two grippers I can take hold of the point where the thread merges with the pendant, which is the receiver and the battery that causes the electrical charges, and break it. I'll do it quickly, but because of this you have to stay still. If you move I could inadvertently touch you with the collar and electrocute you."

Nami nodded imperceptibly, clinging to the back seat of the chair. She closed her eyes and with her blood pumping in her ears, she prepared herself for what was about to happen. She heard the blacksmith take a deep breath, preparing to quickly snatch the wire from the pendant. Without giving her any notice, the blacksmith grabbed the collar with the tongs, making sure he had it firmly in his grasp.

"Here we go."

A metallic click was heard throughout the room. Nami felt a sudden warmth encircle her neck, burning the skin. She let out a cry of pain and without thinking about the blacksmith's warning she fell off the chair, trying to put her hand around her neck to try to understand the excruciating pain. The blacksmith was on her in seconds, seizing her hands and preventing her from touching her neck.

"No, don't touch!"

Nami tried to free herself from his grip, but it was no use—he was too strong for her. She began to cry in pain, shaking her head in vain, as if trying to chase away the pain she was feeling. She had never felt a pain so strong before, not even when Midori was torturing her with the collar. With her hands immobilized by the blacksmith, the navigator lied on her back for several minutes, tears streaking her cheeks, the sobs making her shake.

A part of her brain registered the fact that the baby was awake and crying. He had probably been awakened by her cry of pain. The thought that the child needed her formed in her mind, making the pain decrease. She focused on the baby's cries, her worrying for his safety overcoming her pained senses. Slowly the pain became a continuous and throbbing ache, which allowed her to restore order in her thoughts. She cracked open one eye, trying to move her head to look in the direction of the child, but she suddenly found that even such a small movement sent stabs of pure pain to her brain, making it hard to even think. Gasping in pain, she tried to speak, to express her needs. Her throat was dry and when she spoke her voice was low and croaky.

"The child is crying… I need to…"

The blacksmith, who was on top of her and still grasping her wrists, seemed surprised. Despite the pain she was feeling, she was still able to worry about the baby instead of worrying about herself. Looking straight into her eyes to see if she could understand him, the man said, "I'll take care of him, but you have to stay still. You can't touch your neck or you'll make it worse—do you understand?"

The navigator nodded slightly, her head suddenly confused, heavy. Her last thought before passing out was for the child who was still crying, somewhere in the room.

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><p>So, what do you think? Please R&amp;R.<p> 


	20. Chapter 20

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Twenty

When she opened her eyes she found herself staring at a ceiling that she didn't know, in a room that wasn't familiar to her. Suddenly everything that had happened in the last hours came back to her like a raging torrent. She tried to get up, but as soon as her body began to move, stabs of searing pain made her lay back down, leaving her breathless and panting.

She had a constant pain in her side that gave her trouble breathing, and her neck was burning like hell. As that last thought crossed her mind she had a sudden realization—she was alive. Heedless of the pain she was feeling, she put her hands around her neck, trying to figure out what was causing that constant pain and throbbing. Her fingers encountered bandages in place of skin. Frowning a little, she tried to undo the bandages to find out what was wrong with her neck, but an arm suddenly appeared in her view and grabbed her hands, preventing her from removing the bandages.

"Don't make me tie your hands."

Nami whipped her head toward the voice, regretting it immediately. Her head began to spin and a feeling of nausea overcame her, causing her vision to blur. When finally the nausea disappeared and her mind cleared a little, she opened her eyes. The blacksmith was beside her, the baby cradled in his right arm while he was grabbing her hands with his left hand. She irrationally thought that the way he was holding the child looked almost natural.

That thought left her puzzled for awhile; she had never thought that the man could be a father. But that line of thought made her remember his words when he had decided to help her with the collar. _"I can recognize maternal instinct when I see it."_ She suddenly realized that the blacksmith had to have been a father. A sudden sense of pity overwhelmed her. Something horrible must have happened to the baby because she knew he had no one, neither a wife nor children. The man had to understand her feelings because he suddenly turned and walked away from her, his voice hard and formal.

"Now that you're awake, I'd like to be paid."

Nami nodded, still lying on what she now knew was a table. When she tried to get up again, her muscles screamed in protest, but this time she was able to sit up, despite her side that continued to give her a constant throbbing pain. She looked around and realized she was still in the forge; the blacksmith had just laid her on the table and bandaged her neck. She instinctively brought her hand to her bandaged neck but then she stopped, remembering the blacksmith's words. She turned to look at the man.

"How long have I been unconscious?"

The man shrugged and began to examine his tools.

"Not even one hour. I mended your neck while you were unconscious. The electric wave that thing gave out was so intense that it burned your skin, but nothing serious. Ah, I also fed the baby."

Nami let out a sigh of relief and relaxed for a few seconds. The baby was fine, and she hadn't lost too much time—this was all very good news. The fact that the collar had burned her neck didn't matter—she would deal with it once they were safe. She brought her legs over the edge of the table and stood up. Her legs were too weak to support her weight, so she had to steady herself on the edge of the table. The blacksmith, hearing her movements, turned around and looked at her for a few seconds with a critical eye.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Nami shrugged nonchalantly, trying to show more strength than she actually felt in her body. She began to rummage in the pockets of her dress in search of the money she owed the blacksmith. Wincing in pain, she finally managed to find the bag with the money. She raised her hand holding the bag and showed it to the man.

"I have things to take care of. Here, your payment."

He didn't move for awhile, staring at her. Without saying anything, and still holding the baby, he approached Nami and took the bag from her hands and set it on the table. Having done this, and with a speed that surprised even the navigator, he bent and grabbed her legs with his free arm, lifting her over his shoulder. Nami found herself draped over the blacksmith's shoulder, facing his back.

"What are you doing?!"

The man turned and walked out the back door. Without saying a word, he walked toward a small cart near the side of the building and roughly dumped her in it. The pain that she felt made her wail in protest.

"Hey! That hurts!"

Without answering, the man handed the child to her. She took him, afraid that the blacksmith might treat the baby as he had treated her. As soon as the baby was safely in her arms, he walked toward a small stall nearby. Nami sat in stunned silence as she observed the blacksmith lead a horse out of the barn and attach it to the cart. When he was finished, he seated himself at the reins and turned to look at her.

"Where do I take you?"

Nami stared at him in silence, too confused to articulate any response. Her silence annoyed the blacksmith, who reached out and pinched her. This was all that was needed to make Nami return to the present. She looked at him with wide eyes and an expression halfway between doubt and hope.

"I have no more money to give you. I can't pay you for the ride."

The blacksmith shrugged and looked at the baby boy for a moment.

"Let's just say that this is on the house. Besides, if I let you go alone you won't even be able to reach the bridge in your condition."

Nami had to admit that he had a point. Until that very moment she hadn't realized how tired she was. All the thrills and excitement of the last two days had exhausted her. She smiled gratefully and leaned against the side of the cart.

"Thank you. A ship is waiting for us at Rahan's port."

The smith nodded and snapped the reins, making the horse take off. As the cart began to move, Nami stiffened in pain. That cart wasn't exactly comfy, especially for someone who had a sore side. Trying to hold back the moans of pain that arose every time the wagon met a pothole on the road, she kept herself busy thinking about what was waiting at the port. Freedom, security, and… Sanji! She sat up with a jolt, groaning in pain from all the sudden movements, and knew she had to make the blacksmith stop.

"Wait!"

The man stopped the horse and turned to her.

"What?"

Nami licked her lips, unsure of how to break the news to him. In the end, she opted for the unvarnished truth—until then that method had proven effective with him.

"Before going to the harbor, there's another thing we must do."

The blacksmith stared at her silently, letting her continue. Nami took a deep breath and spoke without looking at him, afraid of his reaction. He had already done so much for her; now she was afraid of asking too much.

"There's someone, a man, who we need to take with us to the port. He is tied to a tree near the river, unconscious. He has to come with us."

Only when she had finished speaking did she dare to look at him. The blacksmith was clearly surprised by the request—and also intrigued. However, he didn't ask her the reasons why that man had to come along, he simply nodded and snapped the reins. Nami distinctly heard him mutter to himself, "Why not? Another strange thing…"

He said nothing more, and silence fell between the two. When they reached the bridge, the blacksmith stopped the horse and got down from the cart, turning to Nami. The navigator tried to get up, but the blacksmith motioned for her to stay seated.

"I don't need you to come; just tell me where you left him exactly. It's better if someone keeps an eye on the cart."

Nami gave him a grateful half smile; they both knew that accompanying him while holding the baby would be too tiring for her. She explained to him where she had left the cook, giving all the necessary information. When the blacksmith nodded and made to turn away, she remembered a detail that could be essential.

"Wait!" The blacksmith turned toward her, a brow lifted in curiosity. "If he is awake, don't listen to him, he's not in his right mind. In case he's not willing to cooperate just…" Her voice trailed off with the implications of that phrase. She didn't want Sanji to be harmed, but if he was awake and still under the influence of Midori's drug, there was no other solution. The blacksmith nodded and gave her a reassuring nod.

"Don't worry; I'll take care of it."

Having said this, he took off into the woods that bordered the main road, disappearing in the shadows. Nami was left alone with the baby in the cart, watching the darkness around them. A disquieting sense of oppression began to creep into her mind, causing her to hold the little boy a little closer to her chest. Not noticing anything out of the ordinary around them, she started to scrutinize the little bundle in her arms, trying to make out his features in the dark. She found herself thinking about how the baby had been quiet since his birth. He had hardly ever cried, and the only time he had done it was because he was hungry or because loud noises scared him. She began to stroke his cheek softly, thinking how funny it would be when she returned to her crew. Their faces would be priceless. She laughed to herself and continued to caress the small boy, forgetting everything around her.

She was suddenly brought back by the sound of approaching footsteps and breaking branches. Alarmed by those sounds, and with a knot in her stomach, Nami protected the child with her arms, trying to hide him. From the woods emerged the blacksmith with Sanji draped over his shoulder, unconscious. The man approached the cart and dropped Sanji in it, next to Nami. The cook's hands were tied behind his back and a red spot that looked like the beginning of a nasty bruise was expanding on his left temple. The navigator looked at the blacksmith, frowning, silently asking for an explanation. The man shrugged and sat at the front of the cart.

"Let's just say that he annoyed me."

Without giving her further explanation, he made the cart move and they headed to the port in silence. Clearly no one wanted to talk—the blacksmith seemed irritated by something that had passed between him and Sanji, and Nami was too busy inspecting the bruise on the cook's temple and trying to put him in a more comfortable position.

They reached the port in less than fifteen minutes. From what Nami could observe from a distance, it looked like the ship was ready to sail. As they arrived at the dock, the blacksmith stopped his horse and got out of the cart. At the same time, Captain Frey, who must have recognized her in the cart, came down from the deck of the ship and approached the strange group. Without even greeting them, he remained in silence looking for a few seconds at each one of them. Firstly he looked carefully at the blacksmith, probably assessing him, deciding if he was a menace, and then he looked at Nami and at the baby in her arms. At the sight of the boy, he seemed a little taken aback but didn't say anything. In the end, he noticed the unconscious form of Sanji laid out in the back of the cart. Without a word to Nami, he called down two sailors and instructed them to bring the cook aboard the ship. Nami, who was still sitting in the cart, put her hand on the shoulder of one of the sailors, warning him.

"You should restrain him. I don't want you to be harmed."

The sailor looked at her skeptically and turned to his captain, silently asking for instruction. Frey just nodded and motioned for him to proceed. Sanji was seized and taken away, while the blacksmith helped Nami get out of the cart. The girl turned to him and squeezed his arm gratefully.

"Thanks for everything."

The man blushed slightly and moved away. He answered gruffly, trying to hide the fact that her gratitude touched him. "I did nothing but my work. Now get on board and don't ever come back."

He left her like this, without even a goodbye. He simply got back in the cart and make the horse head for the village. Nami watched the cart move away, a sudden feeling of uneasiness overcoming her. She barely knew the blacksmith, but she did know that his rough behavior had made her feel safe, and now she was finding herself longing for that sense of safety. Maybe it was because it was the first time in months that she had felt that way, protected. She mentally chastised herself about thinking things like that in a moment so important and turned to the captain, who was scrutinizing her. She realized just then that to his eyes this situation must have been really odd. There, before him, stood a tired, dirty, bandaged and disheveled woman with a beautiful sleeping baby in her arms. No doubt he was pondering from what kind of trouble she was running.

"If I recall correctly, our agreement was about you and the cook. Where did the baby come from?"

Nami, who was tired and could hardly stand up, leaned against a crate that was nearby.

"I'm sorry; it was a last-minute change."

The captain didn't answer right away; he merely observed the small bundle in her arms. Suddenly afraid that he would refuse to maintain his part of the deal, she reminded him of their pact.

"I think that with all the money I'll give you and the fact that Sanji and I will work for free on your ship, you can surely accept a baby on board."

Although her voice was calm and was meant to show backbone, Nami felt fragile and uneasy. Also, the answer of the captain didn't help her feel better.

"Sure, but who will take care of him? Certainly not one of my crew."

Desperate, Nami approached the captain, a plea in her eyes. She was ready to kneel and beg if that was what was needed.

"We'll take care of him, you don't have to worry. Please, I don't have time for this."

And it was true. Every minute was important; she wanted to be as far away as possible when Midori found out they had escaped. She didn't know why she was so irrationally afraid of that woman, but deep inside she knew that Midori's evilness went so deep that she would do anything to make them pay. Nami and the captain looked in each other's eyes for a few seconds, trying to understand each other's thoughts. In the end, the captain took a step back and looked behind her.

"You have the money?"

Nami nodded and took from her pocket the rest of the money she owed the captain. She gave it to him, and he weighed it before putting it in his pocket, nodding. He turned and motioned for her to follow. The navigator adjusted the baby in her arms and followed him onto the deck of the ship. As they boarded, the captain began to shout orders to the sailors, who immediately began to run. Only at that moment, seeing the men prepare to set sail, did Nami realize that she had made it. She had managed to escape—she had managed to escape and save herself, Sanji and the little boy. A smile of joy and victory appeared slowly on her face, and a burst of energy exploded in her and invigorated her. With a last glance to the island and the village, she went to the captain, who was talking with his second-in-command. When she approached him, he stopped speaking to the man and looked at her.

"What do you want me to do?"

The man looked at her, taking in her tired appearance. He shook his head and called for a sailor.

"Take her below, to my cabin. Bring her water to cleanup with and clothes suitable for a ship." He turned to Nami. "Go get some rest for now. You look exhausted. I don't need tired people on my ship; you'll only get in the way."

Nami nodded, grateful for the kindness that he was showing her. She left him with his second-in-command and followed the sailor below, to the captain's cabin. Once the man had left her alone with a basin of cold water and a pile of clean clothes, Nami put the baby on the bed and suddenly slumped helplessly to the ground, her head resting on the mattress. Tears of happiness and relief began to slide down her cheeks. Her body began to shake with sobbing. She felt a sudden swaying of the ship and the steps of the sailors on the deck became more excited—they had set sail, and she was finally free.

* * *

><p>So, what do you think? You like it? Please R&amp;R, let me know what you think of my story.<p> 


	21. Chapter 21

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Twenty-One

Nami was awakened by a rapid knock on the door. The navigator turned away and pulled the covers over her head, hugging the child closer, trying to ignore the incessant knocking. Finally she had to give up on ignoring the knocks when she heard the voice of a sailor calling to her on the other side of the door.

"The captain wants to see you; it's something about your friend."

This made her fully awake. She shot up like a rocket and ran to the door, yanking it wide open. Fortunately she had fallen asleep still dressed; otherwise she would have given a good show to the sailor.

"What?"

The sailor shook his head and shrugged.

"I don't know anything about it; the only thing they said to me is that he is sick and the doctor doesn't know what—"

She didn't give him the time to finish the sentence. She ran to the ladder that led to the bridge, and only when she had climbed the first rungs did she remember the little boy still asleep in bed. She turned for a moment toward the sailor, still surprised by her sudden reaction.

"Take care of the baby."

It wasn't a request but an order. Nami mentally chided herself; she wasn't the captain, and she wasn't allowed to order people around, but in that particular moment she didn't really care. She raced across the bridge, looking around until she realized that the sailor hadn't told her where the captain was. She turned to the nearest sailor and, without wasting time, she asked him about the captain's whereabouts. The man, clearly surprised by her tone and haste, simply replied that he was in the infirmary. Nami nodded and turned, ready to start running again, but she realized that she still lacked basic information. She turned again to the sailor.

"Where's the infirmary?"

The sailor had barely pointed toward the stern when Nami took off. She didn't know what was going on, but if the captain had sent for her and they weren't sure about Sanji's condition, it couldn't be anything good. She finally reached the infirmary, a small room that contained just a desk, a bed and a cupboard full of medicine. She entered the room like a fury. Her sudden entrance startled the doctor, who was monitoring the patient. The captain and his second-in-command were in a corner, watching and speaking. Nami was about to address the captain when she saw Sanji.

He was lying on the bed with his shirt open, revealing his well-built chest, which rose and fell at an accelerated rate. His face was flushed and sweaty, as if he had a high fever. He seemed to be asleep, but it was an agitated sleep; his face kept turning from side to side, and she could hear him thrashing. Nami was taken aback by the scene; she had never seen Sanji so weak. Her mind was rebelling against that image, leaving only confused and scared thoughts in her head. She seemed to be unable to understand how someone so strong could be lying there in front of her, feverish and completely helpless. Continuing to keep her gaze fixed on the cook, unable to take her eyes off him, Nami spoke to the captain.

"What's wrong with him?"

She couldn't see him, but the navigator could picture him shaking his head, his face dark with worry.

"We don't know; he started to show signs of weakness a half hour ago. One of my men noticed his state and called for me and the doctor."

"He hasn't regained consciousness yet?"

"No; he has not woken up since we took him onboard."

Nami didn't know what else to ask—her brain was paralyzed. She just stared at Sanji, stretched out and feverish, unable to create a single rational thought. The doctor, who was listening to his heartbeat, got up from the stool next to the bed and shook his head.

"I don't know what to say; he isn't sick, or at least, it isn't an illness that I can recognize."

Nami closed her eyes, feeling her heart skip a beat. She found herself thinking about Chopper. If he was there, he certainly would have already found a cure for Sanji. Unfortunately, the little reindeer was not on board, and the only person Nami could count on at that time was the ship's doctor.

"Can't you do anything?"

The doctor shook his head, clearly disappointed.

"If I don't know what the illness is, I can't cure it. I could try generic medicine, but I don't think they would work. I gave him something to get the fever down, but it has yet to do anything. It almost seems like…"

He stopped before finishing the sentence, glancing suspiciously at her, as if he had just realized something. Nami looked him straight in the eye, determined to hear what he had to say. Even if it was bad news, she had to know.

"It almost seems like what?"

He let out a little sigh and replied with a barely audible voice.

"He seems to be suffering from withdrawal."

Silence fell, and Nami looked at him, stunned. How could he think that Sanji could…?! She was about to start yelling at the man when she suddenly remembered the drug that Midori used to keep Sanji under her control. Could the drug be the cause of Sanji's illness? It was the only plausible explanation, and the only explanation that Nami couldn't give the doctor. He was a man of medicine; he certainly wouldn't believe that some potion that makes people slaves of women could cause such a reaction. Her hesitance to speak must have been evident, because the captain stepped forward and loomed in front of her, forcing her to look at him. She saw only in that moment how much he was worried.

"It's better if you tell us everything, you know."

Nami looked at him for a moment and then shook her head, stepping back. She really wanted to help Sanji—hell, she would have done anything to make him feel better—but that wasn't the right way to do it. Her explanation would only make things worse. The doctor certainly wouldn't believe her story, and the captain would think she was crazy. She embraced herself and remained silent, looking at the ground while the captain waited for an answer from her. Realizing that there wasn't going to be one, he started to pressure her.

"Listen, we won't judge, okay? We just want to know what he used in order to help him. I don't want anyone to die on my ship."

Nami shook her head again and took another step back, as if she was ready to run. That annoyed the captain, who wasn't a very patient man. He started to yell at her, clearly angry.

"What the hell, woman? Do you understand that he's risking his life right now?! Why did you bring him onboard if you are only going to let him die?! I don't care what he used to get high, nobody cares, do you understand? Open your damned mouth and tell us what the hell he took, or I swear I'll make you spit it out by force!"

She wasn't expecting an outburst like that from him, but she suddenly realized that it was inevitable. They were on a ship and a man was sick—clearly the captain wanted to know if it was something that could affect his crew. Still, the tone with which he had spoken to her made her royally pissed off. The answer came out of her mouth before her brain could react. All the rage she had repressed during those long months on the island exploded in an instant. Before she could think about what she was saying, she was shouting, tears in her eyes.

"He didn't use anything, okay? He has never used anything! This reaction is from some damn drug that kept him under the will of a crazy bitch! She just wanted to have a child with him and then kill him in some absurd ritual from some crazy religion that she and the women of her village follow! I don't know what the hell this drug is; I don't know how they gave it to him! I just know that it's a purple liquid that the bitch kept in a trunk in her room, always locked and guarded!"

When she finished, silence filled the room, broken only by Sanji's groans. With tears streaming down her cheeks, Nami took a step back. Only then did she realize what she had done. She put her hand over her mouth and tried to hold back a sob. She had just revealed the only thing that would bring nothing but trouble. The navigator closed her eyes, ready to face the inevitable disbelief. She expected them to say that she was crazy, but all she heard was a sigh barely held back and the captain's voice giving orders to the doctor.

"You keep trying to get his fever down and give him sedatives. He will need them in the next hours."

That said, he put his hand on Nami's shoulder, who looked surprised but doubtful at the same time. She expected derision, disbelief, not a reaction so calm and composed. The captain motioned for her to follow him. The navigator turned for a moment to look at Sanji, but the doctor had already sprung into action, and she could do nothing to help him. Sighing, she just turned and walked out, following the captain. They were alone in the small hallway outside the cabin. The man, clearly worried, rubbed his eyes with one hand, thoughtful.

"What you just said, keep it to yourself, okay? It would only put the crew on edge, or worse."

From the tone of his voice, Nami had a sudden revelation that left her surprised beyond words.

"You believe me?"

The man nodded gravely and leaned against the wall.

"Years ago, I witnessed something very similar. Let's just say that in this part of the ocean, we are more open to believing in certain things."

That vague answer didn't satisfy her curiosity at all. Now that he had caught her interest, Nami was determined to find out everything that the man knew. It was not just curiosity, but also a desire to learn more about her enemy.

"What do you know about these women?"

The captain shook his head, scratching his beard.

"Not now. Now, you have to watch out for your friend. The next few hours will be hell for him, believe me. It's important that he has someone who cares next to him. It might be the only thing that can really help."

Nami looked at him, frightened by that last sentence.

"But he will recover, won't he?"

The captain remained silent for a few seconds, pondering his answer. Eventually he told her what he really thought.

"I have no idea; it all depends on how strong he is. This thing that was given to him is very powerful. And the fact that he has been deprived of it so suddenly sent his body into shock."

Nami wrapped her arms around her body, and anxiety began to pervade her while a sense of panic mixed with fear gripped her heart. She didn't have the guts to push the topic further; she was too afraid of the answers. She just nodded and turned to go back into the infirmary. She sat on a stool, her eyes fixed on Sanji's face, and took his hand, holding it between hers. That little gesture made her recollect a little bit of determination. She would stay with him, supporting him and encouraging him with her presence. She wouldn't let him down.


	22. Chapter 22

I don't own One Piece.

Twenty-Two

Nami stayed with the cook for the whole day, sitting next to him, looking at him, searching for any sign that could reassure her about his condition. She found none. Despite the medicine that the doctor had given him, Sanji remained unconscious, and the fever stayed high. The navigator sat with him for hours, only staring at him. It was as if she feared that if she stopped looking at him he could get worse. It was stupid, she knew that, but she couldn't help it—she continued to stare at him, hoping that he would recover.

The only times she voluntarily walked away from Sanji was when the doctor visited him. At lunch someone brought her a bowl of soup, but she didn't even consider it. She was too anxious to eat; her stomach was so upset that it certainly wouldn't accept food. She just observed him the whole time, continuing to think that it was all her fault that Sanji was in that situation. During all the months she had been a slave it had never occurred to her that the drug could have such an effect on him. Sure, once or twice she had thought of destroying all the bottles that contained the drug—she knew where Midori kept them—but she had never been able to get near them. Midori had always been careful not to let Nami get too close to the bottles without someone watching her. She kept them in her room in a chest near the bed, and the room was always locked. Midori opened the room to Nami only when it needed to be cleaned and dusted, and while she was in the room, Midori never left her, watching her every move.

For some time the navigator had thought about picking the door's lock, but Midori was always home—she never went out. Being able to sneak into the room while Midori was in the house was impossible, even for Nami. With all of Midori's precautions, she had to abandon any plan that included destroying the drugs. Moreover, Nami certainly couldn't get away with destroying the bottles before it was time to leave the island, because Midori would surely have electrocuted her to death if she hadn't already gotten rid of the collar.

As time passed, thoughts of self-pity and self-reproach were replaced by thoughts focused entirely on the cook lying in front of her, unconscious. She recalled the discussion she had with Robin just before this mess started. Her friend had asked her a question that had disturbed her, and that even now troubled her—_"Have you seen him?"_

She knew what Robin thought, that she was in love with the cook, but she also knew it wasn't true—it couldn't be. He was a womanizer who chased every skirt he saw. She couldn't trust someone like him, right? Even as her mind continued to list every good reason not to be in love with the cook, a part of Nami knew that those answers weren't entirely truthful. She found herself smiling, realizing that she couldn't even be honest with herself in her own mind.

She put her hands to her face and peeked between her fingers at Sanji. Putting aside all her prejudices, Nami tried to watch him as if she was any other woman. The first thought that surfaced subconsciously and without warning to her mind was that Sanji was sexy. That thought made her blush, but she had to admit that it was true. The lines of his face, his eyes, his mouth were all attractive. Now she realized that his eyebrows, which she had always found strange, were what gave him his style, what made him unforgettable.

The navigator found herself thinking that he had really changed since she had first met him on the Baratie. He had grown up, his face was more adult now, and it was not only because of the goatee he now had, but also because of his features, which were harder and striking. Her eyes traveled down his body, and she found herself blushing again. She had to admit that he had a well-built body, slim and sturdy, which gave the impression of being strong and agile at the same time. She could see, through his open shirt, his sculpted abs. Before she could stop herself, she found herself thinking about what other parts of his body were so well-built.

As soon as she realized what she was thinking she sprang to her feet and put some space between herself and the cook. She knew that she had just crossed a line that perhaps shouldn't have been crossed. She forced her gaze away from Sanji, suddenly aware of his nearness. Her eyes wandered around the room, trying to remove the image of Sanji's abs from her mind. She berated herself—she shouldn't think about those kinds of things. This was Sanji, her friend and companion, not someone she had just met. She could not think about him in that way. She continued to reproach herself for several minutes, but despite all her good will, her treacherous mind kept showing her images of Sanji. Embarrassed by herself she put her hands to her face, shaking her head.

"This is ridiculous."

Despite this statement, she found herself remembering all the things he had done for her, all the small gestures full of consideration that she had always taken for granted. He had always treated her like a princess, trying to please her every whim. She had dragged into some serious situations, but he had never complained, not once. She knew now that at some point, she had started to see him under a different light, but her mind had always refused to consider the possibilities Sanji offered.

To be completely honest, her feelings toward him had been more than friendly since a long time ago, but her rational side, always ready to protect her by erecting walls against anyone who tried to get too close, had always come into action, using logical arguments like weapons to destroy every possible little fantasy that included Sanji. Sure, she hadn't liked him from the start; it had taken some time before she started to develop feelings for him, but at some point she had started to feel more than friendship for him.

Now she realized why Robin's assumptions were so disturbing for her, because they were right.

With some surprise, and even a little confusion, Nami finally realized what she really felt for Sanji. This sudden realization left her upset, staring at the wall. Her heart began to beat wildly, and the room became unbearably suffocating. She turned to check on Sanji to see if there were any changes, and not seeing any she decided it was time for her to breathe some fresh air. She closed the door behind her and went up onto the deck. She happily welcomed the salty breeze on her flushed face.

She walked to the railing and leaned against it, looking at the ocean. Slowly the tumult of emotions that had filled her mind began to retreat, leaving the navigator a little calmer and less confused. The lapping of the water against the hull helped her think. Letting her logical part kick in, she started to analyze what she had just done in the infirmary, but she soon understood that it was pointless to use logic—it was that part of her that had kept her from understanding her true feelings for Sanji for so long. Maybe, if that part hadn't kept her from her feelings for all that time, all the things they had gone through these past months wouldn't have happened.

Putting aside all assumptions and recriminations, she found herself fearing the time when the cook would wake up. What should she do, how should she act? Would she be able to appear the same, or would he notice immediately that something had changed in her? She knew that she was being paranoid, but her mind couldn't help but think about how she would act around him, how she would feel embarrassed. She was afraid that she would act differently with him, which would give him the chance to notice her feelings. Consciously she knew that was stupid—after all, if she was in love she would have to tell him sooner or later—but subconsciously she was afraid—afraid of being rejected, afraid of exposing herself and being hurt, afraid of ruining their friendship.

Apart from all this, however, there was a huge issue that had to be solved before she could think about anything that involved her feelings toward the cook—Midori. Nami knew that at some point they would have to talk about it. Despite everything, despite being under the influence of a drug, Sanji had felt love for that woman. Nami certainly couldn't expect that after a painful experience like that, realizing that everything he had felt for Midori was artificial and had never been returned by her, he was ready for another ride on that carousel.

She sighed sadly, lost in thought. She didn't notice the sailor behind her until he came next to her, the child in his arms. He was the same sailor who had told her that Sanji was sick, and the same one she had asked to look after the baby. Seeing the baby made Nami smile, happy to have something to distract her from her thoughts. She stretched out her arms, and the sailor handed her the child, who was fast asleep.

"I fed him a little while ago."

Nami smiled and stroked the infant's cheek. She was about to get lost in thought again when the sailor brought her back to the present by asking her a question.

"How is…?"

The navigator turned her attention to the man. He wasn't old like the captain; he was probably a little younger than thirty years old. He had hair and eyes asblack as night and a beard that made him look like a castaway. He was tall and broad, but not fat. He looked a bit rough, but it could be guessed at first glance that he was a kind man. She understood that he was referring to Sanji and finished his sentence for him.

"Sanji. There's still no change."

He looked really worried for Sanji, and for that she started to like him. He wasn't pitying her; he was just worried about someone else's life.

"I'm sorry; I hope he recovers quickly."

Nami smiled and thanked him for his kindness. The sailor shrugged and pointed to the small bundle in her arms.

"What's his name?"

Nami frowned and looked at the baby for awhile. She had been so focused on the escape plan and then for Sanji's wellbeing that she had never thought of a name for the baby. She debated for some time about giving him a name, but then decided that it would be arrogant of her. It wasn't her son; he was Sanji's. It must be him to pick a name. She shook her head and shrugged a little.

"He doesn't have one yet. When Sanji wakes up, he will decide."

"You know, you have a right to choose the name, too, you're the mother after all."

That sentence left her puzzled. For a moment she looked at the sailor with her mouth open in disbelief. Finally her brain began to work, and she managed to create, in spite of the agitation and embarrassment she was feeling, a coherent sentence.

"No, no, I'm not his mother! This baby isn't mine!"

"Ah, sorry, my mistake."

His assumption of her being the mother of the baby left her so embarrassed and upset that the sailor took notice of it and decided not to press the subject any further. Instead he tried to lighten the conversation.

"By the way, my name is Balt."

Nami smiled at him, grateful for his tactful change of subject.

"I'm Nami."

Balt was about to say something to her when the doctor emerged from under the deck and motioned for her to join him. Suddenly anxious and agitated about Sanji's condition again, Nami took a step toward the infirmary. In that moment the baby shifted in her arms, and she remembered him. She quickly thought about what to do and after a few seconds she turned to Balt, a plea in her eyes.

"Can you please keep him for a little while longer?"

She didn't want to leave the child, but if something bad was happening to his father, she didn't want him near it, even if he was too little to understand what was going on. The sailor must have understood her feelings because he nodded without saying anything and took the baby in his arms, cradling him a little. He motioned for her to go.

"Go, I'll take care of him."

She thanked him quickly and then ran to the infirmary, anxiety and worry flowing through her like waves. As soon as she reached the doctor, she followed him into the infirmary. Unable to wait, Nami asked about the cook's condition.

"How is he? Has he worsened?"

To her relief the doctor shook his head. He started to explain the situation while they walked.

"The opposite; when I went to check his vitals, I found him asleep. The fever has broken, even if it has not disappeared altogether. I think the critical phase has passed."

They entered the infirmary, and Nami could make certain with her own eyes that Sanji actually looked better. He had ceased stirring in his sleep, and his chest rose and fell at a slower pace than before. She walked over to him and sat down on the stool. Without even realizing it, she took his hand and squeezed it hard between her hands. The doctor, realizing that she preferred being alone with the cook, said something about returning later to see how he was doing and went out, closing the door behind him. Nami sat on the stool, keeping Sanji's hand in hers as if he was a lifeboat.

She was so relieved to see him sleeping peacefully that the pent-up anxiety of the past hours left her tired and numb. Without even realizing it, she fell asleep. She woke up when she felt something moving next to her. Still hazy, she looked up from the mattress and found herself staring into Sanji's eyes. He was obviously still confused, signs of fatigue evident on his face, but he was awake and looking at her. For some time he looked as if he didn't recognize her, but then he spoke, his voice hoarse.

"Nami, what happened? Where—?!"

She didn't give him time to finish the question. Without thinking she jumped up and with a shriek of happiness hugged him tightly, tears of relief streaming down her cheeks. She hugged him as if she was afraid he might vanish into thin air. Sanji returned the hug, surprised by this show of affection from her, but happy to have Nami in his arms.


	23. Chapter 23

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter Twenty-Three

They remained embraced in silence for several minutes, both just happy to be there with the other. After some time Nami felt Sanji's body stiffen as if something had suddenly struck him. A sudden spasm of fear gripped her stomach and without thinking, she took his head in her hands and forced him to look at her. What she saw in his eyes was remorse and self-loathing. She instantly realized that he remembered—he remembered everything. For a moment she felt sorry for him, regretting that he could remember. Just forgetting everything would certainly have been better in some respects, but then how would Nami explain the presence of the child?

Seeing his sad and remorseful look made her heart skip a beat. She hated to see him like this, ashamed and dejected. Unable to face her, Sanji pushed her hands away and looked down. They both didn't know what to do or what to say. The load of emotions, doubts and questions to be answered that weighed on both was so huge that neither one of them knew where to start.

When Sanji shifted uncomfortably, trying to sit up, Nami realized how compromising their position was. He was lying on the bed with his shirt open, and she was straddling him. Blushing to the tips of her ears, Nami scrambled off of him, apologizing. When she had seen him awake and conscious she was so excited that she had just jumped on him, without thinking. Still red in the face, she sat down on the stool at a respectable distance from the cook. When she finally gained enough courage to face him again, she saw that he had also blushed and was avoiding his gaze, a little embarrassed himself. They stayed in an awkward silence for a few seconds, but in the end, they were unable to bear that silence, so Nami decided to start talking. She blurted out the first thing she thought.

"How do you feel?"

Sanji looked at her briefly before returning to looking at his own hands.

"As if I've been hit by a cannonball, but nevertheless, I'm good."

Nami nodded and without knowing what else to say, she fell silent. She looked at the tips of her sandals, but her attention was soon captured by a question that she hadn't expected.

"How are you?"

The navigator looked at him, surprised by his question. From the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes she could tell that it wasn't a trivial question, just to make conversation; he was really worried. She instantly understood that he knew. He remembered what had happened, what he had done and what she had to endure. He wasn't asking her if she was okay physically, but emotionally. For a moment she contemplated the chance to tell everything to him, let out all the anger she had pent up inside, tell him that at times, even though she knew he was under Midori's control, she had hated him.

She wanted to tell him that and much more—that she was in love with him, that those hours during which she hadn't known if he was going to be okay had been a living hell for her—but she knew it would be too much. Too much to deal with all at once, especially when there were so many unresolved issues between them. She finally opted for the easiest way out, which she adopted whenever feelings were involved: lie. She faked a smile and shook her head.

"I'm fine."

She didn't give him time to respond. They both knew she was lying, and they both knew that if she had given him the opportunity, he would have continued to push her until she told the truth. And it was a truth that neither of them could bear, not now. Rising abruptly, Nami ran for the door, turning just to say that she was going to call the doctor to tell him that he had recovered.

She closed the door behind her, and with a sigh of despair mixed with grief, she slowly slid down to the floor, her back against the wooden door. Bringing her knees to her chest she began to cry silently, trying to hold back her sobs in fear that Sanji could hear. She cried for several minutes, bitter tears of anger and regret that rolled down her cheeks. She was so taken by her own emotions that she didn't hear the approaching footsteps behind her, and when the door opened behind her she remained still, waiting. She didn't know what to expect, honestly, her mind was so messed up at that moment that she didn't even know what she was thinking.

Sanji, who had heard her crying from behind the door, knelt behind her. He stayed there for several moments. Nami could feel him behind her, looking at her. Eventually she felt his arms slide around her, embracing her, making her fall back against his chest. A thought passed through her mind that she was letting him hug her when he was exactly the reason why she was crying. She knew that both of them would have to face unresolved problems later on, and that it would open wounds that they would rather ignore, but at that moment she didn't care. Sanji, for his part, was thinking the same thing, but he was also thinking that he didn't care about what was going to happen later, all he cared about now was trying to comfort the woman in front of him. He hugged her tightly, pressing her against his chest, resting his face in the crook of her neck.

She didn't fight his embrace; even though it was his fault that she was crying, she didn't refuse him. She was so eager for comfort that she didn't care that it was coming from him. She relaxed against his chest, and the warmth of his embrace and his proximity helped her calm down a little. Slowly the sobs stopped as well as the tears. They remained like that for what seemed like ages, just taking comfort in each other's presence. For that small, brief moment, they both forgot what had happened to them—they forgot the past and the world around them, remaining only a man and a woman embracing each other. After some time, without notice, Sanji whispered two words against the skin of her neck that she wasn't expecting.

"I'm sorry."

Those words were enough to bring her tears back. Her body stiffened immediately, and she tried to get out of his embrace. She tried, but his arms, stronger than hers, remained locked. A little surprised by that resistance she tried again to get free, but this only made him tighten his grip, holding her tighter to his chest. His head still pressed against the crook of her neck, he spoke again.

"Wait…"

That word stopped her instantly. The tone in which he had spoken was so intense that she could tell that he had something to say, something important. Taking her silence as an invitation, he started to speak again.

"I know that a simple sorry isn't enough; I know what you went through, what you had to endure. It was a nightmare, and I was one of the monsters in it. I'm not asking you to forgive me—I'm not even asking you to forget all of this—I know that I couldn't. Perhaps now you're hating me for what I've done, and I deserve it, every single part of it, but please, please… tell me that there is a chance for our friendship, tell me that despite everything, there is still a way for us to be friends."

Those words brought fresh tears to her eyes, but they were mostly tears of wonder. She would never have expected that Sanji could think that she hated him. Sure, there were times where she had, but it had never lasted. It had never been a hatred so strong as to make her doubt her friendship with him. The cook, seeing that she wasn't saying anything and that she had started to cry again, loosened his grip, sure that Nami couldn't wait to get out of his arms. To his surprise the navigator, now free to move, turned toward him, and taking his head in her hands she forced him to look into her eyes. With watering eyes and a little sniff, she started to talk to him, trying to sound convincing.

"I do not hate you; I couldn't even if I wanted to. What happened… what happened is something that we have to fix, but not now; it is too early for both of us."

She saw doubt in his eyes and understood what he was really afraid of—that in the end they wouldn't fix anything, they would find a way to not talk about the problems they had to solve because they were too painful. A smile of kindness crept onto Nami's face, and she suddenly understood that he was right. He knew her so well that he knew what she was going to do. She smiled softly and pulled him to herself, hugging him. She pressed her head against his chest for several minutes, trying to find the right words. Not finding any, she decided to go for the simple truth. Still with her head pressed against his chest and not daring to look him in the eyes, she started to talk.

"I want you to know that I don't hate you, not in the slightest way. It's true, though, that during these months I've hated your behavior, how you treated me, but I've never ever hated you. And for the things that happened, I forgive you."

She felt him tense, knowing that there was more coming. She continued talking, letting out everything that she had kept inside.

"In the beginning I blamed you for how things went. I was angry because I thought that it was because of your constant running after pretty girls that we were in that situation. In time, though, I became able to see things differently. You were a victim like me, only you didn't know it. Because of the drug you did what she wanted you to do; you didn't have any choice, and that was a condition a lot worse than mine. At least I still had control over my mind—you didn't. So, what I want to say is: I don't blame you, Sanji."

She felt Sanj's arms embrace her again, and she found herself thinking that she liked the feeling that those strong arms gave her. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his nearness, certain that the discussion was over. Apparently Sanji had more to say, though.

"I should have fought."

Nami frowned and raised her head, trying to meet his gaze. He avoided her, staring stubbornly at the wall in front of him. Still not looking at her, he continued.

"I should have fought against the drug; I should have resisted it. I… I was a weak, and because of that you paid the price."

Nami looked at him shocked, wondering if he had even listened to her. Hadn't she just said that she was forgiving him for what had happened? She tried to make him look at her, but he refused to meet her eyes.

"You couldn't do anything; it was a drug, Sanji. Nobody could have fought its effects."

The navigator felt him stiffen even more, and he backed up a little from her, looking at her briefly and then looking down at his hands.

"Yes, I could have. There were moments, brief moments, when I was lucid, in which I found myself lying in bed with… and I thought that that wasn't the place where I should be, that it wasn't right. In those moments I should have gotten up and gotten away, but… I never made it out of bed; all I could do was lay there and think that what was happening wasn't right…"

Nami was struck by the sudden realization that Sanji hated himself for what had happened; he hated himself for not being strong enough to protect her from Midori and from himself. For a moment, just a moment, a selfish thought crossed her mind making her think that it was right for him to feel that way. It was because of his inability to keep his head straight in front of a beautiful woman that they had ended up like that. But the moment passed, and Nami was left ashamed to have even thought of such a thing for even a second. The navigator stroked his cheek involuntarily, a little taken aback by her own act, and forced him to look at her. When she spoke she tried to convey all her feelings in those words.

"Listen to me—it wasn't your fault. You couldn't predict what would happen, no one could. It just happened. Luckily we came out of it safe and sound, and we're going to go back to our friends. There's no sense in wondering what would have happened if you had acted in a different way, or if you had been able to fight the drug. Things have happened to us; we have to accept them and try to move on. I'm not saying that we have to forget everything, but to forgive, especially ourselves. Do you actually think that during these months I have never pitied myself or hated myself for not being able to see from the beginning that everything with Midori was just an act? Every damn day, for months, I have been thinking about how it could have been if I had told… Anyway, what I mean is that you shouldn't take all the blame for what happened. You were just being you, and they took advantage of it, but that doesn't mean it's your fault. And then, honestly…"

Nami paused for a moment, blushing slightly, unsure of how to proceed. She wanted to tell him that knowing that even under the influence of the drug he had been able to realize that Midori wasn't his true love had made her happy, but that was not the moment. She opted for a less inconvenient but just as fundamental truth.

"…It isn't true that you never fought against the drug—you did. When you realized that what was happening was wrong, you were trying to fight. Failing to defeat the effects of the drug does not mean that you were weak, not at all."

Sanji's eyes, now shiny with barely repressed tears, closed, and he shook his head as if to refuse her words.

"You don't understand. I just… I hurt you, and I won't ever forgive myself."

Nami, remembering how badly he had hurt her, cowered away involuntarily. Sanji noticed it, and pain and sadness flashed through his eyes. He let her go and got up, walking away from her, now clearly angry at himself.

"I hit you, Nami, and at that time I was in my right mind! I didn't need Midori to tell me what to do, I just…" He laughed bitterly. "I, who have always sworn to never hit a woman, beat the woman that I…"

He gave her a quick look but then turned away again. When he spoke his voice was low, little more than a whisper.

"The thing that really scares me is that I was ready to do it again, I was ready to hit you again if Midori had asked me."

Nami looked at his back for several minutes. His shoulders were tensed, and she could see that the remorse he was feeling was eating away at him. She approached him from behind and put a hand on his arm, making him turn to her. He had tears in his eyes and a look of pure sadness on his face. She stroke his cheek, and looking at him she smiled kindly, trying to make him see that what she was going to say was the truth.

"You did what you did because it was the right thing to do for the woman you loved. You thought you were in love with Midori, and I was threatening her. It's something that every man would have done. Honestly, I would have been disappointed in you if you had just stood there, watching us fight until she had ordered you to help her. That would have meant that they had also taken away your heart."

She pressed her palm against his chest, just above his heart.

"Please, believe me when I say that I don't blame you for anything, I don't hate you, and I forgive you for what has happened."

It seemed that those last words had an effect because she saw a hint of relief pass through his eyes. They looked at each other for several minutes, feelings that they still didn't know how to express passing through them, making them come closer and closer until they were just inches apart, their breaths mixing together. His eyes, which had been locked on hers, moved to her lips, slightly parted, and she felt a surge of adrenaline pass through her thinking that he was going to kiss her.

The tension was so great that it exploded like a bomb when the door opened, and the doctor walked in. The sudden interruption made them jump in surprise and in the blink of an eye they were several feet apart, each looking embarrassed and flustered. The doctor, embarrassed for being the cause of such awkwardness, apologized profusely and tried to exit the room, but Nami stopped him.

"Don't worry; it's fine." She faked a smile. Actually it was far from fine; she was disappointed that they had been interrupted, but also a little bit relieved. After all that had been happening, it was certainly not the right time to make out. Although it was eating away at her that if it wasn't for the doctor she could have kissed him. "You have to check up on him, and I have to go inform the captain that he is conscious; we have something to discuss."

With that she excused herself, leaving Sanji with the doctor. Before exiting she looked at him and from the look on his face she could tell that he was pissed at the doctor. If looks could kill, the doctor was in danger. She smiled, utterly amused by that, and walked away. She wouldn't have thought it possible before, but right now, she was happy.


End file.
